3 minNews
South Carolina Mother Charged in Starvation Deaths of Two Daughters
Justine Marie May, 31, faces two counts of homicide by child abuse after her daughters, ages 1½ and 2½, were found dead in their Ladson home. An affidavit says she could not recall the last time she fed them.
A South Carolina mother has been charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse after her two young daughters were found dead inside the family's home in Ladson, outside Charleston, according to court documents. Justine Marie May, 31, was booked into the Charleston County jail on Sept. 29, the day the children were discovered, and remained in custody as of Friday, online jail records show.
Deputies from the Charleston County Sheriff's Office responded to a welfare check at the home and encountered May outside, crying and speaking incoherently, according to affidavits reviewed by Fox News Digital. When deputies entered the residence to check on the children, they found both girls dead. The children were approximately 1½ and 2½ years old at the time of their deaths.
According to the affidavits, May told detectives that the previous two weeks had been a blur and that she could not remember when she had last given her daughters food or something to drink. She allegedly said she believed the children died because they did not eat and acknowledged that not feeding them amounted to neglect. May also told investigators she had been the only person at the home and the children's sole caregiver during the preceding weeks.
Investigators accused May of showing extreme indifference for human life by failing to provide her children with basic sustenance, which they alleged was a main contributor to their deaths. Separate arrest warrants were issued for each child, charging May under South Carolina law. The jail records list two homicide by child abuse charges.
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office said deputies had made separate contact with May and the children twice in August and three times in September, and reported seeing no obvious signs of concern during those encounters, according to published reports. Their last reported visit while the children were alive was Sept. 20.
The sheriff's office's Office of Professional Standards is conducting an internal review of the agency's response. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division's Special Victims Unit and the Department of Child Fatalities are assisting in the investigation, according to published reports.
The case has drawn attention to the frequency of prior contacts between law enforcement and the family before the children's deaths. The internal review will examine how deputies handled those earlier visits and whether any warning signs were missed. No further details about the review's timeline or scope have been released.
May's next court appearance has not been publicly scheduled. The investigation remains active, and authorities have not said whether additional charges could follow. The two charges she currently faces each carry the possibility of a lengthy prison sentence under South Carolina's homicide by child abuse statute.
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