Mother STARVED 1- and 2-Year-Old Children to Death!

Police car blue siren light flashing — Photo: klauscook / Shutterstock

Two toddlers died from starvation and dehydration in a home authorities had visited 13 times in six weeks, and their mother now faces two homicide counts.

Story Snapshot

The coroner ruled both deaths homicides caused by starvation and dehydration due to neglect.
Deputies found the girls during a welfare check at a Pinewood Drive residence.
Their mother, Justine May, is charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse or neglect.
Records show repeated welfare calls and prior contact with the family before the deaths.

What Officials Say Happened Inside the Pinewood Drive Home

Charleston County deputies and the state’s child welfare agency arrived for a welfare check at a home on Pinewood Drive. They contacted homeowner and mother, 31-year-old Justine May, and then found her two daughters, ages two years and fifteen months, dead inside the residence, according to the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office statement. The Charleston County Coroner identified the girls as Emory and Harlow Deacon and determined both died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect. The coroner ruled the manner of death for both children as homicide.

Deputies arrested May and charged her with two counts of homicide by child abuse or child neglect, according to court records and multiple local outlets. The sheriff’s office said responders knew from prior visits that May was the primary caregiver for the children. The case now moves into the court system, where prosecutors must match the coroner’s findings with proof of criminal neglect under South Carolina law. An arrest is not a conviction, but the charges are severe and clear.

The Red Flag Trail: Thirteen Responses in Six Weeks

Dispatch records and local reporting show deputies were sent to the home repeatedly before the deaths. Outlets reported thirteen visits since August 10, including several specific dates in August and September, with deputies making contact with the family on five occasions. That volume signals a household in trouble. Yet frequency alone does not prove what officials saw each time. The sheriff’s statement focused on procedures and noted prior awareness of caregiving roles, a detail that may matter at trial and for public accountability.

Authorities also released a 911 call from a concerned acquaintance who asked for a welfare check on May and the children, underscoring that people near the family tried to intervene before the tragedy. The public asks a fair question: if so many calls came in, why did no one get those girls out in time? That is not a cheap shot; it is common sense. When the warning lights flash this often, the system should not drive on until the engine fails.

What the Law Requires to Prove Homicide by Child Abuse

South Carolina law defines homicide by child abuse to include deaths of children under eleven caused while committing child abuse or neglect, when the circumstances show extreme indifference to human life. Courts have treated extreme indifference as a culpable mental state comparable to intent for this offense. Prosecutors must tie the coroner’s cause of death—starvation and dehydration—to actions or omissions by the caregiver that meet that standard.

Media reports citing affidavits say May told investigators the last two weeks were “a blur” and that she could not remember when she last fed or gave the children something to drink. If that statement appears in the official record, it will weigh heavily alongside the coroner’s findings. Jurors do not need complex forensics to grasp what it means when toddlers go without food and water. That alleged admission, if proven, marks a line from neglect to lethal harm in a way everyday citizens understand.

Accountability, Compassion, and the Duty to Act

This story forces two duties to the front at once. The first duty is parental. Children cannot feed themselves. They rely on the adult in the home to meet the most basic needs—food, water, safety. When that duty fails, the state must step in. The second duty is institutional. Repeated calls and visits mean the alarm rang more than once. Agencies have to share information, act faster on patterns, and document what they see so that judges, not just field officers, can make removal decisions when risk spikes.

🚨HOW MANY WARNING SIGNS DOES IT TAKE BEFORE SOMEONE ACTUALLY DOES SOMETHING?

Justine May, 31, of South Carolina, is facing two counts of homicide by child abuse after her two young daughters were found dead inside her Ladson home.

Emory Deacon, 2, and 15-month-old Harlow… pic.twitter.com/QMiKABGhLI

— AmericaReal (@AmericaReal3) October 4, 2026

American conservative values teach that life is sacred, family is a duty, and government exists to protect the innocent when others will not. That frame leaves room for mercy toward struggling parents while setting a hard boundary: when children’s lives are at stake, hesitation is costly, and process cannot be a shield for inaction. If the evidence supports the charges, a jury should hold the offender to account. If systems lagged, leaders should fix the gaps now, before another alarm goes unanswered.