TRAGEDY IN SOUTH CAROLINA: TWO YOUNG SISTERS DIE FROM SEVERE NEGLECT

A heartbreaking tragedy has unfolded in Charleston, South Carolina, where two young sisters lost their lives due to severe starvation and dehydration. The victims have been identified as 33-month-old Emory Deacon and her 15-month-old sister, Harlow. Their deaths were discovered on September 29, 2026, when local deputies conducted a welfare check at a home in Ladson. On October 1, the county coroner officially ruled both deaths as homicides resulting from extreme neglect.

The girls’ mother, 31-year-old Justine Marie May, has been arrested and charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse. According to newly released court affidavits, May told investigators that the preceding two weeks felt like a “blur.” Investigators revealed that she was completely unable to remember the last time she had provided her young daughters with food or water during that entire two-week period.

This tragic outcome came despite prior concerns from family members, who had previously expressed deep fears regarding the children’s safety and urged the mother to accept assistance. At an age when toddlers rely entirely on adult care for basic survival, Emory and Harlow suffered in silence, unable to call for help or seek refuge.

Beyond being a horrifying headline, the loss of Emory and Harlow Deacon serves as a sobering reminder of the urgent necessity for community vigilance and early intervention to protect vulnerable children from domestic abuse and fatal neglect.