South Carolina authorities have charged 31-year-old Justine May with homicide by child abuse following the deaths of her two young daughters. The children, aged 1 and 2, were discovered in their Ladson home on September 29.
Thirteen welfare checks since August 10
The Charleston County Sheriff's Office reported that deputies had visited the Ladson residence 13 separate times since August 10 in response to various phone calls. Despite this high frequency of law enforcement presence, the underlying crisis remained undetected by authorities.
According to the sheriff, contact was officially made with Justine May and her children on five specific dates: August 25, August 26, September 8,September 11, and September 12. During these documented interactions, deputies and other responding agencies observed no signs of concern that would have signaled the danger facing the two girls.
Family warnings and the Lindsay Clancy comparison
Evidence suggests that Justine May's family had expressed significant concerns regarding her mental state prior to the tragedy. As WCIV reported, Facebook posts shared by May showed screenshots of heated arguments with relatives and friends , indicating a period of domestic and emotional instability.
One family member even sent an email referencing the high-profile case of Lindsay Clancy,a Massachusetts woman facing trial for the deaths of her three children. The relative expressed a haunting fear, asking if a "dark entity" behind May's eyes could lead to such an outcome,highlighting that the family had perceived a profound psychological shift in May.
A two-week 'blur' and the reality of starvation
Justine May provided a chilling account to detectives regarding her state of mind leading up to the discovery of her daughters' bodies. According to an arrest affidavit , May claimed she had been living in a "blur" for the two weeks preceding the deaths of the 1-year-old and 2-year-old children.
The affidavit further states that May could not remember the last time she had provided the children with food or water. May reportedly admitted to detectives that she believed her daughters had starved to death and acknowledged that her failure to feed them constituted neglect , noting she was the sole caregiver present in the home during those weeks.
What was missed during the five documented contacts?
The central question remaining for investigators and the Ladson community is how thirteen separate calls failed to trigger a life-saving intervention . While deputies noted no "signs of concern" during the five specific contacts in August and September, the subsequent discovery of the children's bodies suggests a catastrophic failure in the welfare check process.
Furthermore, the role of the family case worker who accompanied deputies on the September 29 visit remains a point of scrutiny. It is currently unclear how a professional trained in child welfare failed to identify the immediate risk that led to the discovery of the two deceased children.
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