Sheriff’s records document repeated calls, agency visits and a stopped welfare-check effort before Emory and Harlow Deacon were found dead.
LADSON, S.C. — The final welfare check at a Pinewood Drive home lasted only long enough for deputies to realize something was gravely wrong: After weeks of calls concerning the family, they entered the residence Sept. 29 and found 2-year-old Emory Deacon and 15-month-old Harlow Deacon dead inside.
The discovery ended a sequence that had begun nearly seven weeks earlier and included domestic-dispute calls, repeated welfare concerns, contacts with the South Carolina Department of Social Services, a mental-health crisis evaluation and the arrest of the girls’ father on a harassment allegation. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has said it received 21 calls connected to the residence between Aug. 10 and Sept. 29 and responded there 13 times. The children’s mother, 31-year-old Justine Marie May, is now charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse. She has not been convicted, and the criminal charges remain allegations.
The first events in the later-released timeline grew from the collapse of May’s relationship with Zachary Deacon, the girls’ father. Records described an Aug. 10 domestic disturbance after the couple had ended their relationship. May told deputies that Deacon had followed her during an argument and struck her vehicle, while Deacon raised concerns about May’s mental health. The responding deputy did not document evidence at that time that led to emergency action involving the children. Another call followed Aug. 11, and the sheriff’s office later reported additional contacts and follow-ups during the second half of August.
By Aug. 25 and Aug. 26, deputies said they had direct contact with May and the children. The sheriff’s office later cited those dates when explaining that personnel had not observed conditions suggesting an immediate safety threat. An Aug. 27 contact was among the events reflected in dispatch logs later obtained by local news outlets. The records show that law enforcement was not dealing with a single isolated complaint. Instead, deputies were returning to the same address while the dispute between the adults and concerns about the children increasingly overlapped.
September brought more calls. The sheriff’s office said May and the children were seen during visits on Sept. 8, Sept. 11 and Sept. 12. DSS participated in one of the welfare checks. In a report describing a Sept. 11 encounter, deputies wrote that the children appeared healthy, well-fed and appropriately cared for. Deacon, however, was telling officers that he believed May was spiraling and that he was worried about the children. May told deputies that Deacon’s continued calls and contacts were unwanted and that he had been driving past her residence. The same information was therefore being viewed through two competing frames: a father reporting danger and a former partner alleging harassment.
Deputies ultimately sought a second-degree harassment warrant for Deacon. He was arrested Sept. 12 and later released on a $25,000 personal recognizance bond, according to reports citing court records. That day also brought another agency into the situation. The state Department of Mental Health’s Mobile Crisis Unit went to speak with May and requested a law-enforcement escort. The evaluator determined that May did not meet the unit’s criteria for intervention and gave her information about resources. The sheriff’s office has cited that result, along with the earlier observations of the children, in explaining why emergency action was not taken during those visits.
At the same time, May’s public Facebook activity reflected the family conflict. She posted screenshots of private messages and wrote that repeated police and DSS contacts had found nothing wrong. In a Sept. 9 post, she described herself as an “amazing mom” while rejecting allegations from Deacon. Relatives were sending a different message. Emails and texts later reported by local news organizations show family members saying they were alarmed by May’s behavior, worried about being cut off from the children and afraid the situation could end in harm. Those messages were expressions of concern rather than official findings, but they show that the warnings were continuing outside the formal reports.
The timeline reached a critical point Sept. 20. Sheriff Carl Ritchie later said deputies again went to the residence and spoke with May but did not see the children. According to Ritchie’s later account, May said the girls were sleeping and denied deputies entry. She also declined Mobile Crisis assistance and denied wanting to harm herself. That was the last documented in-person contact with May before Sept. 29. Two days later, an on-duty supervisor decided to discontinue additional welfare checks, citing the previous contacts, participation of DSS and Mobile Crisis and the absence of new actionable information showing an immediate threat.
What happened after Sept. 22 is now at the center of the public scrutiny. Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal later concluded that Emory and Harlow died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect and ruled both deaths homicides. She estimated the girls had been dead three to five days when they were found. That estimate places their deaths after the decision to halt additional checks, although it does not establish a precise hour or day for either death. The sheriff’s office has said its Professional Standards office is reviewing the agency’s handling of the case.
On Sept. 29, deputies returned shortly after 12:30 p.m., this time with the family’s DSS caseworker. They encountered May outside the home. Because earlier contacts had established that she was the children’s primary caregiver, responders entered to check on Emory and Harlow. Both were dead. The sheriff’s office brought in the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s child-fatality personnel to assist. Nearly 20 sheriff’s vehicles were reported in the neighborhood as the scene remained active for hours, an unusually large police presence on a residential street residents described as normally quiet.
An arrest affidavit provided investigators’ account of what May said after the discovery. It described her crying and speaking incoherently and said she told officers that the preceding two weeks had been a blur. Investigators alleged that she could not remember the last time she fed the girls or provided something for them to drink. She allegedly said she believed they had died because they did not eat and acknowledged understanding that failing to feed children was neglectful. Authorities said she had been the sole caregiver in the home during the relevant period. Those statements have not been tested through trial testimony.
The coroner publicly identified the children after the arrest and released the cause and manner of death. O’Neal described Emory as 33 months old and Harlow as 15 months old. The findings turned the case from a death investigation into a clearer question about how two very young children allegedly went without adequate food and hydration despite the extensive attention surrounding the household. A community vigil followed in Summerville, while the girls’ father and other relatives began pressing for an examination of the decisions that preceded their deaths.
Attorney Gedney M. Howe IV, representing Deacon, has said the family believes the deaths should have been prevented and has called for an independent review of law enforcement’s response. Among the issues raised are Deacon’s harassment arrest, the decision to stop additional checks and whether emergency protective options were adequately considered. Ritchie has said his agency is reviewing its own procedures and has emphasized that deputies must act on verified circumstances available during each contact. The sheriff has also said he wants questions answered from complete documentation rather than assumptions.
For the girls’ relatives, the continuing legal proceedings have not ended the questions raised by the weeks before their deaths. Family members have pressed for closer scrutiny of the welfare checks, the decision to discontinue them and the response to Zachary Deacon’s concerns. May remained in custody ahead of a scheduled Nov. 20 appearance, but no final public conclusion had been announced from the sheriff’s internal review.
Author note: Last updated November 10, 2026.