A Welfare Check, Two Children, and a Charge That Carries Life

There are calls for help that arrive too late, and there are calls that were never made at all. On Tuesday afternoon in Ladson, South Carolina, deputies responded to a welfare check at a home on Pinewood Drive. What they found inside was two children, dead. On Wednesday, the homeowner, 31-year-old Justine Marie May, was charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse .

May was taken into custody on September 29 and waived her bond appearance on Wednesday, meaning she will remain in custody. An initial court appearance is scheduled for November 20. The charge of homicide by child abuse carries a sentence of twenty years to life if she is found guilty . The Charleston County Coroner’s Office has not yet released the names, ages, or cause of death of the children .

The investigation is ongoing, but court records and prior law enforcement contacts paint a troubling picture. May’s ex-boyfriend, Zachary Deacon, was arrested on September 11 after deputies responded to the same home for a reported mental health crisis. Deacon faced charges including harassment after May alleged he continued to contact her following prior domestic violence. He was later released on bond with an order not to contact May or the children .

Family members of May had reportedly called law enforcement within the last month regarding the well-being of May and the children in her care. On September 13, May herself posted screenshots on social media of concerned text messages and emails allegedly from family, including an email expressing concerns about her parenting . Deacon had previously called May “delusional, spiraling and in need of getting a grip on reality” in documents referencing involvement with social services .

The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s Department of Child Fatalities and the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office are both investigating . Neighbors described the area as generally quiet. Shannon Green, who lives nearby, said she learned about the incident while scrolling social media. “I looked out the back window and saw a bunch of blue lights” .

For a community in Ladson, the case raises questions that will take months to answer: what was reported, what was known, and what might have been done differently. The children’s names have not yet been released. Their lives, whatever they held, are now part of a court record—a case number, a charge, and a date in November when the legal process will begin.

AI Image Disclaimer: The accompanying images in this report were created with artificial intelligence and are intended for conceptual representation only.

Sources: WRDW, WPDE, The National Desk, WDRB