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Bodycam footage from August 30 shows South Carolina toddlers' mother Justine May interacting with police during a welfare check weeks before the children's deaths. The video reveals an orderly home and no immediate threat detected by officers, despite previous welfare checks due to concerns over her neglecting the children for days at a time. Following the last welfare check on September 20, the toddlers were found dead from starvation just under a week later, prompting their father Zack Deacon to hire legal counsel to investigate potential police inaction or incompetence.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-11,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Justine May, 31, was arrested and charged with homicide for the starvation deaths of her two young children, Harlow Deacon (15 months) and Emory Deacon (2 years), in their home in Ladson, South Carolina. The children were found deceased on September 29 after being starved to death due to neglect by the authorities. Chilling bodycam footage released by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office showed welfare checks conducted on August 30 and September 12 where May appeared confrontational when officers arrived for routine checks, denying them entry into her home despite repeated visits. At least 13 welfare checks had been carried out at the residence in the weeks preceding the deaths, but none resulted in any concerning behavior being reported by deputies. The case highlights systemic failures in identifying and addressing potential risks to child safety in time.
Written for “Child Welfare Check Footage” on 2026-10-11,
grounded in this article and the 1 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 71384 · logged 2026-10-11
Chilling bodycam footage reveals two South Carolina toddlers were seemingly fine just weeks before they were found starved to death inside their home.
asserted
they → chill → home
Their mother, Justine May, 31, was arrested Sept. 29 and hit with homicide charges in the tragic deaths of 15-month-old Harlow Deacon and 2-year-old Emory Deacon, according to the Daily Mail.
uncertain
mother → arrest → Mail
“How can I help you?” the accused killer asked officers as they arrived at her door on Aug. 30, adding, “No one can come in.”
When officers asked her to step outside, she grew frustrated and demanded to know why.
asserted
she → help → her
Cops pressed May on whether she was hearing voices or planning to harm anyone.
uncertain
she → press → anyone
She dodged the questions and instead blamed her ex-fiancé, claiming he was lying about a mental health episode.
asserted
he → dodge → episode
When officers pushed for details, May snapped: “I don’t want to tell it.”
uncertain
I → push → it
“The police know.
asserted
police → know → ?
I’m not doing this at all.
asserted
I → do → this
I’m not telling my side at all.”
asserted
I → tell → side
Holding one of her children, May called her ex and her mother “crazy” for constantly calling police to check on her, video shows.
uncertain
video → hold → her
The welfare check came after no one — including the children’s father, Zack Deacon — had seen the kids in a week.
asserted
one → come → week
On scene, a social worker warned May that her “mental health has apparently declined” following her split from Deacon.
uncertain
health → warn → Deacon
May denied it, accusing Deacon of “erratic behavior” when he would stop by the home.
uncertain
he → deny → home
In the footage, the house appeared orderly and clean.
asserted
house → appear → footage
Yet, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office detected no apparent danger during their 13 welfare checks executed in the home leading up to the kids’ deaths, despite the mother’s horrific neglect, according to the Daily Mail.
uncertain
Office → detect → Mail
A welfare check was not performed after Sept. 20, just under a week before the tots’ bodies were recovered inside the home.
“The decision was made by the on-duty supervisor to discontinue additional welfare checks based on the totality of the information available at that time, including the previous contacts, the involvement of DSS and Mobile Crisis, and the absence of new actionable information indicating an immediate threat to Ms. May or her children,” Sheriff Carl Ritchie said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
uncertain
Ritchie → perform → Mail
May allegedly told police that she had been in a “blur” for weeks and did not remember when she last fed her kids.
uncertain
she → tell → kids
The sheriff’s office is now retroactively reviewing body camera footage to determine the girls’ health in the days leading up to their deaths.
asserted
office → review → deaths
Zack Deacon hired legal counsel to investigate police conduct and potential incompetence.
asserted
Deacon → hire → conduct
“Emory and Harlow deserve the truth,” lawyer Gedney Howe wrote in a statement to the Daily Mail.
asserted
Howe → deserve → Mail
“Their father deserves to see the file, not to learn about the case on the news.”
asserted
father → deserve → news
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