Two young sisters in Ladson, South Carolina, are dead, and the details are devastating. Emory Deacon was two years old. Harlow Deacon was fifteen months. The Charleston County coroner ruled this week that both died of starvation and dehydration due to neglect. Their mother, Justine May, has been charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse and is being held at the Al Cannon Detention Center.
What makes this case so troubling is how many times the system had already been to the house on Pinewood Drive. Deputies responded to numerous calls there before Tuesday’s welfare check, including visits coordinated with South Carolina’s Department of Social Services and a mental health mobile crisis unit. According to authorities, deputies made contact with May and the children in August and several times in September, and each time reported no signs of concern. The break came Tuesday, when a 911 caller said May was walking through the neighborhood without her children and acting differently.
For families here on the Suncoast, the natural question is whether the safeguards we rely on would actually catch a caregiver in crisis. Florida’s abuse hotline exists for exactly that reason, and anyone can call 1-800-96-ABUSE to report concerns about a child. The bigger question, though, may be about the people closest to the situation. Neighbors noticed something was wrong before agencies did.
Have you ever been concerned about a child’s welfare and wondered whether reporting it would make a difference?
