Disturbing police bodycam video captures two South Carolina children alive in the weeks before authorities found them dead from starvation and dehydration inside their home.
Justine May, 31, was arrested on September 29 and charged in connection with the deaths of her children, 15-month-old Harlow Deacon and 2-year-old Emory Deacon.
Police discovered the children deceased at the family’s home in Ladson. The coroner determined that neglect led to their deaths, citing starvation and dehydration.
Authorities carried out at least 13 welfare checks at the residence during the weeks before the children died.
Bodycam footage released by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office shows deputies conducting two of those checks, on August 30 and September 12, offering a glimpse inside the home before the tragedy.
During one visit, May appeared frustrated when she opened the door and saw police waiting outside again, according to the footage.
“How can I help you?” she asked as children cried and dogs barked inside the home. She then told officers, “No one can come in.”
When officers asked her to step outside to speak with them, May appeared irritated and responded, “Why?”
Justine May, 31, was arrested in connection with the deaths of her children, Harlow Deacon, 15 months, and Emory Deacon, two
Released bodycam footage shows deputies carrying out two welfare checks, during which the children appeared cheerful and safe
Deputies asked May whether she was hearing voices or intended to hurt anyone. She said no, adding that her former fiancé had fabricated claims about a mental health crisis.
When asked to explain her side of the situation, May refused. “I don’t want to tell it. The police know. I’m not doing this at all. I’m not telling my side at all,” she said.
May also described her former fiancé and her mother as “crazy,” claiming they repeatedly called police about her. In the footage, she held one child while the other crawled nearby.
During the August 30 welfare check, officers were permitted to enter the home. The residence appeared clean and orderly, and the children could be seen following their mother as deputies spoke with her.
A social worker explained that authorities had become concerned because no one had seen the children for more than a week. He also said their father, Zack Deacon, had attempted to visit them.
The social worker told May that people had alleged her mental health had “apparently declined” since she separated from the children’s father.
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May rejected that allegation, insisting instead that Zack had behaved “erratically” when he came to the home.
When a caseworker noticed that one of the toddlers had a rash, May replied, “Yes, she had a diaper rash, like a normal baby does.”
After the children were found, May allegedly told police she had been in a “blur” for several weeks and could not remember when she had last fed them
The coroner ruled the children died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect
At least 13 wellness checks had been call to the mother’s home prior to their deaths
Their father, Zack Deacon, is asking for a review of conduct into police. ‘Emory and Harlow deserve the truth,’ his lawyer Gedney Howe said in a statement
None of the visits resulted in deputies finding any concerning behavior, the sheriff’s office previously stated.
No welfare checks were made after September 20, a little over a week before the girls would be found dead. On September 22, the sheriff’s office made the decision to stop going to May’s 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.
When police arrived at her door on September 29, the mom allegedly admitted she had been in a ‘blur’ for two weeks and couldn’t remember the last time she fed her children.
Deputies then found the children’s bodies inside the home.
The Sheriff’s Office is now working through the bodycam footage of the welfare check to create a timeline of the girls’ deaths, Ritchie said at a press conference.
Zack, through his lawyers, has asked for a review of conduct into how the police handled the case.
‘Emory and Harlow deserve the truth,’ lawyer Gedney Howe wrote in a statement. ‘Their father deserves to see the file, not to learn about the case on the news.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Zack’s lawyers for comment.