Mom charged with killing 2 young kids 'did not remember' last time she fed them: reports
Justine May (Charleston County Sheriff's Office)
A South Carolina mom has been charged with killing her two young daughters after police found them dead during a welfare check earlier this week.
According to WCIV, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office has identified the woman as Justine May.
What is Justine May charged with?
What we know:
Deputies said they responded Tuesday to a home in Ladson, where they found two children dead. They were later identified as 33-month-old Emory Deacon and 15-month-old Harley Deacon. The coroner’s office determined both children died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect, WCIV reports.
When deputies arrived, they found May outside the home crying and "speaking incoherently."
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May reportedly told officers that the last two weeks were a blur. She said she "did not remember" the last time she fed her kids, and also said she knew that "not feeding her children was neglectful," court documents state.
May was arrested on two counts of homicide by child neglect, according to WALA.
Reports say it wasn’t the first time the sheriff’s office had been called to May’s home in recent weeks. WCIV reports that deputies responded to calls at the home 13 times between Aug. 10 and the day the children were found dead. One of the visits involved the state Department of Social Services and another visit involved the state Department of Mental Health’s Mobile Crisis Unit.
Family begged Justine May to get help
Dig deeper:
According to People magazine, May reportedly shared screen shots on Facebook of text messages and emails she received from family members and the children’s father, pleading with her to get help.
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"I am begging you to hear me. This is not you. I am f---ing begging you to please get help," the children’s father reportedly wrote to her.
"You are spiraling Justine," he wrote. "I need you to understand that no matter what you are the mother of Emory and Harlow. You’ve always been a good mother."
"This is not you. Please come back. Please get help," reads the text.
"This has been the fresh hell your family has been living every day that you don’t communicate or let us see the girls," May’s mom reportedly wrote to her in an email. "Would Justine do this? No. Would this dark entity that is behind Justine’s eyes do this? This haunts my worst nightmares."
The Source: This report includes information from the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, WCIV, WALA and People magazine.