Case file 03 / Ladson, South Carolina
The Justine Marie May case: the children, the warnings, and the search for answers.
The records behind the calls for help, the criminal allegations against their mother, and the request for an independent examination of the agencies’ response.
Page reviewed October 23, 2026 / Records and statements are identified by their own dates.
Family photos via WCSC Live 5 News.
Emory, 2
Harlow, 15 months
September 29, 2026
Ladson, Charleston County
Justine Marie May
Two counts of homicide by child abuse
23 PDFs
Request, reports & reference notes
Remembering the girls
Emory and Harlow’s family remembers little girls whose days were filled with music, dancing, laughter, Ms. Rachel, and Bluey.
Their obituary describes Emory as talkative, joyful, and full of personality. Harlow loved giving kisses, complete with her own little sound. Their father, Zack, and the people who loved them are left carrying those memories while asking what happened before the girls were found.
That is where this coverage begins. These documents describe decisions that affected two very young children who depended on the adults around them.
Read their family’s obituaryThe criminal case
Justine Marie May is charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse. The charges are allegations; she has not been convicted in the material reviewed for this page.
According to affidavits described in reporting, May told investigators she could not remember when she last fed her daughters or gave them anything to drink. The coroner determined their deaths were caused by starvation and dehydration due to neglect.
Alongside the criminal case, relatives and friends have asked for independent scrutiny of how law enforcement, DSS, Mobile Crisis, and dispatch handled earlier calls and concerns. Their request for accountability does not establish misconduct by an agency or resolve the charges against May.
The sheriff’s office has said it responded repeatedly and observed no immediate signs of concern during earlier contacts. Family members and friends dispute whether the response adequately established the children’s safety. The original records and dated statements are essential to understanding those accounts.
Calls, contacts & requests
August–September 2026
The released records document domestic calls, welfare concerns, follow-ups, and contacts involving DSS and Mobile Crisis. Relatives and friends reported concerns about Justine’s behavior and the children’s safety. These reports are not, by themselves, a medical diagnosis.
September 11–12, 2026
The incident narratives describe a deputy’s observations of the home and children, a Mobile Crisis assessment, and the basis recorded for a harassment warrant against the girls’ father, Zachary Deacon. The family’s position is that he was trying to get help. The released incident-report bundle supplies the fuller context.
September 22–28, 2026
The CAD records and the community request describe further attempts to obtain welfare checks and follow-up. The letter asks investigators to establish why checks were not completed, how concerns were classified, and what information reached supervisors.
September 29, 2026
The girls were found dead during a response to their Ladson home. Their mother was arrested. The September 29 CAD report records the dispatch timeline; its closed incident status is not the disposition of the criminal case.
October 6, 2026
Public reporting states the coroner determined the girls died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect, and classified both deaths as homicides.
October 9–16, 2026
Coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal said she made verbal and written requests to SLED on October 9 to examine the actions and timelines of involved agencies. That request was reported publicly on October 16. A request should not be described as confirmation that a separate investigation has begun.
October 23, 2026
Friends shared the eight-page letter available below. It asks the governor and attorney general to help secure an independent investigation and a substantive response to the concerns raised.
Read the sources
Community request / 8 pages
A letter to South Carolina’s governor and attorney general asking for an impartial examination of the agencies’ actions, decisions, communications, and response before the children were found.
Agency records / 18 pages
Earlier released incident reports and narrative supplements, including contacts before September 29.
AllegedlyReportedly reference / 2 pages
A dated index of 17 calls prepared from the supplied audio notes. This is a reference summary, not the audio itself.
March 17–September 29, 2026
Browse the released documents, 17 calls, and 20 radio recordings by date. Each recording has its own player and download link. Nothing plays automatically.
Dates follow the supplied filenames. A date may have several files relating to the same incident. An empty entry means no file of that type is included in this collection.
18 dates shown
| Date | Documents | 911 calls | Radio transmissions |
|---|---|---|---|
No date-specific PDF in this collection. | 911 call 1 3:37 Download MP3 | No recording in this collection. | |
No date-specific PDF in this collection. | 911 call 1 3:08 Download MP3 | No recording in this collection. | |
Released record 1 10 pages | 911 call 1 5:03 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 2:12 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 8 pages | 911 call 1 3:56 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 1:49 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 10 pages | 911 call 1 7:07 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 0:41 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 9 pages | 911 call 1 7:25 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 2:27 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 5 pages Released record 2 8 pages | 911 call 1 4:11 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 0:13 Download MP3Radio transmission 2 2:25 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 7 pages | 911 call 1 2:47 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 0:48 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 12 pages Released record 2 6 pages | 911 call 1 8:33 Download MP3911 call 2 3:32 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 0:31 Download MP3Radio transmission 2 1:58 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 13 pages | 911 call 1 9:50 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 2:23 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 10 pages | 911 call 1 3:22 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 2:28 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 7 pages | No recording in this collection. | Radio transmission 1 0:48 Download MP3Radio transmission 2 1:41 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 8 pages | No recording in this collection. | Radio transmission 1 1:26 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 7 pages | 911 call 1 3:56 Download MP3 | No recording in this collection. | |
Released record 1 6 pages Released record 2 6 pages | 911 call 1 1:58 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 0:36 Download MP3Radio transmission 2 0:27 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 6 pages | 911 call 1 3:06 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 0:31 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 6 pages | 911 call 1 5:08 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 0:32 Download MP3 | |
Released record 1 5 pages Released record 2 33 pages | 911 call 1 3:39 Download MP3 | Radio transmission 1 5:16 Download MP3Radio transmission 2 0:06 Download MP3 |
No matching dates. Clear the search to see the full collection.
The files retain their supplied redactions and wording. A closed status in a dispatch record describes that incident entry, rather than the outcome of the criminal case. The call chronology is a coverage reference.
Hear and see the coverage
Listen to the calls and radio transmissions above, then follow the longer coverage for the conversations and context around these records.
For Emory and Harlow
Their lives must remain at the center of every document, every hearing, and every question still waiting for an answer.
Sources & further reading
Additional sources: the released documents and community request available above. Photos: Family / Charleston County Sheriff’s Office via WCSC Live 5 News. This is a dated case page, not a live court docket. It does not claim that SLED has opened a separate investigation solely because one has been requested.
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