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A South Carolina woman named Justine May has been charged with two counts of homicide by child neglect after her two young daughters, aged 33 months and 15 months, were found dead from starvation and dehydration at their home in Ladson. Deputies had responded to the house multiple times over a two-week period prior to the discovery, including visits by social services and mental health professionals, but there was no indication during those visits that the children were in immediate danger. May reportedly did not remember feeding her children in the days leading up to their deaths and admitted that withholding food from them was neglectful.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-04,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Justine Marie May, a 31-year-old mother from Ladson, South Carolina, was charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse after her two young daughters, Emory Deacon (2 years old) and Harlow (1 year old), were found dead at their home due to starvation and dehydration. On September 29, deputies responded to a welfare check call where May was reportedly outside the house crying and speaking incoherently. Inside, they discovered the children's bodies.
May told investigators she couldn't remember when she last fed her daughters or gave them water, describing the previous two weeks as a "blur." She acknowledged that not feeding her children was neglectful. Family members had previously emailed May expressing concern about postpartum depression and fears of her harming the children, referencing the Lindsay Clancy murder trial in Massachusetts.
Prior to this incident, authorities had visited May's home 13 times between August 10 and September 29 due to welfare concerns.
Written for “Mom Charged Starving Daughters” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 56070 · logged 2026-10-04
A woman in South Carolina has been accused of letting her two young daughters starve to death in her home.
asserted
daughters → accuse → home
Deputies responded to a welfare check at the Ladson home of Justine May on Tuesday.
uncertain
Deputies → respond → Tuesday
When they arrived, they found May's two children, Emory Deacon, 33 months, and Harley Deacon, 15 months, dead from apparent starvation and dehydration, according to Fox 4.
uncertain
children → arrive → Fox
May was reportedly standing outside of her home crying and "speaking incoherently" when the deputies arrived.
uncertain
deputies → stand → home
She told police she "did not remember" the last time she fed her children and said that she knew that "not feeding her children was neglectful," according to court documents.
uncertain
feeding → tell → documents
May reportedly described the previous two weeks as a blur that she could barely remember.
uncertain
she → describe → that
She was arrested on two counts of homicide by child neglect, according to WALA.
uncertain
She → arrest → WALA
Authorities have had to visit May in the past.
uncertain
Authorities → have → past
Between Aug. 10 and the day the children were found dead, deputies responded to May's house 13 times.
uncertain
deputies → find → house
One of those visits included personnel from the South Carolina Department of Social Services.
asserted
One → include → Services
Another visit involved members of the state's Department of Mental Health and its Mobile Crisis Unit.
asserted
visit → involve → Health
When audio of the 911 call directing deputies to the house was made public, a dispatcher said that the office was "no longer conducting welfare checks at that address," stirring up the ire of some locals.
asserted
office → direct → locals
The sheriff's office explained that it had received 21 calls about May's address since Aug. 10, and said that there was no indication during any of the previous stops that either of the children were in danger.
“During the prior responses, deputies and participating agency personnel did not report observations indicating an immediate concern for the children’s welfare,” the sheriff's office said.
uncertain
office → explain → welfare
"The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office recognizes the profound gravity of this tragedy and extends its deepest condolences to everyone affected," the CCSO said in a statement.
asserted
CCSO → recognize → statement
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to professional, lawful, and accountable service to this community.
asserted
We → remain → community
May appears to have been aware that people in her life were concerned for her mental health.
uncertain
people → appear → health
She shared screenshots on Facebook of messages she had received from family members and the little girls' father begging her to seek help.
asserted
she → share → help
"I am begging you to hear me.
asserted
I → beg → me
I am f---ing begging you to please get help," the father of the girls wrote to her.
asserted
father → beg → her
He wrote that May was "spiraling."
uncertain
May → write → ?
"I need you to understand that no matter what, you are the mother of Emory and Harlow.
asserted
you → need → Emory
You’ve always been a good mother," he wrote.
asserted
he → write → ?
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