The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office says deputies repeatedly visited the home before Emory and Harlow Deacon were found dead Sept. 29.
LADSON, S.C. — The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office is facing questions about repeated contacts at a Ladson home before two young sisters were found dead there, as newly released records and statements show deputies had visited the property numerous times in the weeks before their deaths.
Emory Deacon, 33 months old, and Harlow Deacon, 15 months old, were found dead Sept. 29 during a welfare check at a Pinewood Drive residence. Charleston County Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal said the girls died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect and ruled both deaths homicides. She later said the children had been dead an estimated three to five days before they were found.
Their mother, 31-year-old Justine Marie May, is charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse. The charges are allegations and have not been proven in court. May remained in custody after waiving a bond hearing, and an initial court appearance was scheduled for Nov. 20.
The sheriff’s office has said it reviewed 21 calls connected to the Pinewood Drive residence beginning Aug. 10 and that deputies responded to the home at least 13 times before Sept. 29. The agency said its last attempted contact before the discovery of the children was Sept. 20. Records released since the deaths have intensified questions about what deputies encountered during those visits and whether additional intervention was possible.
Sheriff Carl Ritchie has defended the agency’s earlier response. He said deputies checked on May and the children during multiple visits and that the girls appeared to be doing well when they were seen. Ritchie also said the department is examining its procedures while investigators work to determine what happened.
Attention has also focused on a law enforcement radio transmission connected to the address in which a deputy said the agency was no longer conducting welfare checks there. The sheriff’s office has said the deputy who made the statement was following supervisory direction and acting under established policies. Officials have not publicly provided a full explanation of that direction or identified a specific policy that ended further checks at that point.
Despite that earlier transmission, deputies returned Sept. 29 after another welfare concern was raised. The sheriff’s office has said deputies and a Department of Social Services worker responded to the home and made contact with May outside. They entered the residence to check on the children and found both girls dead.
Probable cause affidavits say May told investigators the preceding two weeks had been a “blur” and that she could not remember the last time she fed the girls. Those statements are allegations included in the criminal case and have not been established as fact at trial.
The Department of Social Services has also faced questions about what authority it had before the deaths. The agency has said confidentiality laws prevent it from discussing specific case information during an active investigation. DSS said it does not have unilateral authority under South Carolina law to remove a child from a parent’s custody. Emergency removal can occur when law enforcement determines a child is in imminent and substantial danger, or through an order issued by a family court judge.
The sheriff’s office has said its Office of Professional Standards is conducting a routine review following the critical incident. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s child-fatality investigators have also assisted in the case. Authorities have not announced findings from those reviews or said that any deputy violated policy.
The deaths have also prompted public demands for a fuller explanation of the agencies’ contacts with the family before Sept. 29. A community vigil was held in Summerville after the girls were identified, while relatives and residents continued seeking answers about how repeated concerns and official contacts preceded their deaths.
The homicide investigation and the sheriff’s internal review remain open. Authorities have not announced whether additional charges, disciplinary action or policy changes will result, and the precise sequence of events during the final days of the girls’ lives remains under investigation.
Author note: Last updated October 8, 2026.