Ladson Tragedy: Welfare Checks Halted, Questions Remain

by JENN WOOD

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Emory Rose Deacon loved music, dancing and Bluey. She spoke well beyond her years, her family recalled, and had even picked up an accent from watching the show.

Her little sister, Harlow Paige Deacon, shared her affection through kisses, each with its own little sound.

Those are the details family members want remembered about two little girls whose lives should have been measured in the many milestones that lay ahead of them. Emory was two. Harlow was 15 months old.

Their joint obituary describes children surrounded by love – and by relatives who now must say goodbye. Their funeral is scheduled for Thursday afternoon (October 8, 2026) in Moncks Corner, S.C.

As that family prepares to lay them to rest, records (.pdf) obtained by FITSNews under the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) provide a closer look at the warnings, assessments and decisions that preceded the discovery of their bodies inside a Ladson, S.C. home on September 29, 2026.

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The girls’ mother, 31-year-old Justine Marie May, faces two counts of homicide by child abuse. Charleston County coroner Bobbi Jo O’Neal determined the girls died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect and classified their deaths as homicides. She estimated they had been dead for three to five days prior to their discovery.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) records document concerns about May’s behavior, visits during which deputies reported no immediate danger to the children, and a crisis evaluation that did not result in intervention.

They also show that continued welfare reports became part of the circumstances a deputy cited in seeking a harassment warrant against the girls’ father, Zachary Edward “Zack” Deacon.

Now, attorney Gedney M. Howe IV is calling for an independent investigation of how CCSO handled the family in the weeks before the girls died.

In a statement (.pdf) dated October 7, 2026 and provided to FITSNews, Howe challenged sheriff Carl Ritchie to invite the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) to review his agency’s conduct.

The requested review would extend beyond the criminal investigation of May to examine Deacon’s arrest, the decision to stop welfare checks, coordination between agencies and whether authorities considered emergency protective custody for the girls.

In a statement released Thursday morning, Ritchie confirmed that an on-duty supervisor decided on September 22, 2026 to discontinue additional welfare checks. He cited previous visits, agency involvement and an absence of new actionable information indicating an immediate threat to May or her children.

His statement did not identify the supervisor or say whether he would request an independent SLED review.

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A DEMAND FOR OUTSIDE SCRUTINY

Howe said the family was deeply disheartened by Ritchie’s defense of his office in an interview with WCIV TV-4 (ABC – Charleston. S.C.) which he said occurred less than 48 hours before the girls’ funeral.

While the sheriff publicly stood by the agency’s handling of the case, Howe said his efforts to review the underlying file had met little success. According to the attorney, he was told records were still being assembled and required review and redaction before officials could determine what to share.

“The sheriff cannot tell the public the file is complete enough to reach conclusions while telling the children’s father it is not ready for him to see,” Howe wrote.

The partial records provided to FITSNews do not constitute the full file Howe described seeking. They omit detailed accounts of several contacts, the underlying screenshots collected in the harassment investigation and the full assessments by partner agencies.

Howe also disputed CCSO’s account of calls between its last contact with the household and the discovery of the bodies. He said the office had given September 20 and September 22 as the last-contact date and characterized its claim of no intervening calls for service directly to the home as “demonstrably false.”

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“We have spoken with the witnesses who called for help during that time, and we know what they reported,” he wrote.

The release reviewed by FITSNews does not contain the complete dispatch records needed to independently resolve that dispute. Whether a call concerned the home, requested a response or resulted in an actual visit also matters to reconstructing the timeline.

Howe pointed to a deputy’s radio transmission stating deputies were “no longer conducting welfare checks at that address.” CCSO previously said the deputy followed supervisory direction.

Howe sought the identity of the person who issued that direction, its timing and its justification. Ritchie’s subsequent statement supplied a date and attributed the decision to an on-duty supervisor, but did not identify that supervisor.

His requested review would examine the basis and authorization for Deacon’s arrest; the handling of each call and response; coordination with the S.C. Department of Social Services (SCDSS) and Mobile Crisis; any emergency protective custody assessment; and whether records and video were fully preserved and kept unaltered.

“SLED’s Child Fatalities Unit is already assisting in the case against Justine May. That is not what we are asking for,” Howe wrote. “We are asking for an independent investigation of how the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office handled this family in the weeks before Emory and Harlow died.”

If Ritchie does not request that review, Howe called on the S.C. ninth circuit solicitor, attorney general or governor to do so.

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RELATED | Lowcountry Tragedy: Family Says ‘No One Listened’

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THE SHERIFF’S RESPONSE

In his Thursday morning statement, Ritchie explained the September 22 decision to discontinue additional welfare checks.

“On September 22, the decision was made by the on-duty supervisor to discontinue additional welfare checks based on the totality of the information available at that time, including the previous contacts, the involvement of DSS and Mobile Crisis, and the absence of new actionable information indicating an immediate threat to Ms. May or her children,” Ritchie said.

That statement supplied a date and supervisory role for a decision the family has demanded be independently investigated. It did not identify the supervisor, specify which reports were evaluated or explain what would have prompted deputies to resume checks.

Ritchie said deputies made nine separate visits between August 25 and September 20 involving contact with May and/or her children. That wording does not establish that deputies personally saw both girls during all nine visits.

According to the sheriff, the available records showed no conditions indicating the children were in immediate danger or that emergency law enforcement intervention was required. He also cited a visit with SCDSS on August 30 and one with Mobile Crisis on September 12, saying neither resulted in findings requiring immediate law enforcement intervention.

His statement added a SCDSS visit date not detailed in the FOIA release. The September 11 incident report described a visit involving SCDSS on September 8, while Ritchie’s statement cited August 30. The underlying records are needed to establish whether those were separate visits and what occurred during each.

Ritchie said he was reviewing documentation and agency contacts before participating in further media interviews, seeking to answer questions fully while preserving investigative integrity.

“Our priority must remain clear: justice for these two children,” he said. “We owe it to them, their families, and our community to seek the truth and ensure accountability.”

He directed readers to CCSO’s policy manual, identifying its patrol operations and mental health response policies as most relevant. The statement did not explain how particular provisions supported the September 22 decision.

It also did not say whether he would accept Howe’s request for an independent SLED investigation of CCSO’s conduct.

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THE FIRST DOCUMENTED WARNINGS

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The 18-page release contains reports concerning five incidents, including a March vandalism complaint that did not concern the children’s welfare. It is not a detailed account of all 21 calls and 13 responses CCSO previously said occurred beginning August 10. Those totals include the response during which the children were discovered.

An August 10 domestic disturbance report documented the deterioration of May and Deacon’s relationship.

May told deputies Deacon had followed her outside during an argument, slapped her vehicle and tried to keep her from leaving. The deputy observed handprints on a window but no visible injuries. May said the encounter had not become physical.

Deacon told deputies May had mental health issues and was experiencing an episode. The report stated he could not provide proof, and deputies found no prior incidents involving mental health concerns about her.

Neither person could provide access to security camera footage. Deputies pursued no charges, citing inconsistencies in their accounts. The couple agreed to separate for the night, with Deacon keeping the children and his father available to help.

On August 26, 2026, Deacon requested another welfare check. He reported that May had been acting unusually, had stopped communicating with him and other relatives, and that writing he saw on a wall while babysitting had raised concerns about the children’s safety.

Deputy Christopher L. Harris wrote that May eventually answered and invited him inside. He checked on the girls, who were in bed and appeared to be sleeping. He reported no immediate signs of distress or problems with the home.

May said she wanted space from Deacon and other family members. She attributed the writing on the wall to Deacon – and said another deputy had checked on her and the children the previous day. Harris notified Deacon of his findings and advised him of options through Family Court for custody or other family concerns.

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FROM A CRISIS CALL TO A FATHER’S ARREST

On September 11, deputy Matthew John Meisel responded to a reported mental health crisis at May’s home after her mother, Denise Theriault, raised concerns about unusual social media statements, including references to being a “goddess of the night.”

Meisel’s report referenced a September 8 visit involving deputies and SCDSS, during which allegations about the home’s condition and the children’s welfare had reportedly been determined unfounded. The release does not include a separate detailed report of that visit or SCDSS’s underlying assessment.

May told Meisel that Deacon continued contacting her despite requests to stop, repeatedly drove past the home and was an ongoing source of welfare complaints. She provided screenshots of calls and messages, including communications in which Deacon described her as “spiraling,” referenced SCDSS involvement and urged her to “get a grip on reality.”

Meisel wrote that May could communicate about the repeated law enforcement contacts. He described the home as clean and orderly and the girls as appearing “healthy, appropriately cared for, and well-fed.” He observed no immediate condition requiring emergency intervention.

The response then became the basis for pursuing a second-degree harassment warrant against Deacon. Alongside unwanted calls, messages and alleged drivebys, Meisel’s account included “continuing welfare concerns being reported to law enforcement concerning Ms. May and her children.”

That passage places repeated reports about the girls’ welfare within the deputy’s assessment of an alleged pattern of harassment — an assessment informed partly by earlier visits that had found no immediate problem.

The following day, September 12, deputy Cory Miles Ashe accompanied a Mobile Crisis evaluator to speak with May after another request from her mother.

“Mobile Crisis spoke with Justine, determined she didn’t meet their criteria, and departed, providing Justine information on available resources,” Ashe wrote.

The report did not explain those criteria, reproduce the evaluator’s assessment or describe a separate examination of the children during that response.

Knowing Deacon had an outstanding harassment warrant, Ashe arranged to meet him at the Exchange Club Fairgrounds in Ladson, S.C. and arrested him there. The report stated Deacon cooperated completely.

Howe described the arrest in his new statement as an arrest “for calling 911.” CCSO’s reports supplied a broader stated basis, including unwanted communications and alleged drivebys alongside welfare complaints. The underlying messages and complete evidence were not included in the release.

Whether those communications constituted harassment, reflected legitimate concerns about the children, or involved elements of both cannot be resolved from these records alone. What the reports establish is that welfare complaints figured into the decision to pursue a charge against their father — a decision the family now wants an outside agency to investigate.

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THE WARNINGS IN HER OWN POSTS

Facebook posts attributed to May provide another account of the same period. They are her public portrayal of the conflict, including selected screenshots, rather than a complete record of the family’s communications.

In a post dated September 9, May wrote that she was preventing Deacon from seeing the children because she did not trust him. She described repeated welfare visits and claimed police had told him to stop abusing the system.

That claimed instruction is not independently established by the released reports.

In a September 13 post, May wrote: “I’ve had the police at my door every week, DSS, and the mental health crisis people. I’ve been cleared in every which way.”

Her description went further than the records. Deputies documented no immediate concern during particular visits, and a crisis evaluator reportedly found she did not meet intervention criteria. Those findings did not establish that the children would remain safe afterward.

The screenshots also preserve relatives’ concerns. In one exchange, a commenter identified as Barbara Deacon urged May to get help and alleged she would not allow relatives to see the girls. Another commenter, identified as C.J. May, described blocked communications and pleaded for help for her.

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WHAT THE RECORDS STILL DO NOT ANSWER

Ritchie’s latest statement identifies September 22 as the date a supervisor decided to discontinue additional welfare checks. The remaining questions concern how that decision was reached and what safeguards remained for the children afterward.

Did each assessment consider the full history? Which visits involved direct observation of each girl? Did the harassment investigation change how later welfare requests were handled? What information reached the supervisor before and after the September 22 decision?

The released records do not answer those questions or explain the later September contacts in detail. The September 29 death report directs the reader to an attachment for additional information, but no corresponding detailed account appears in the release.

The central question is whether reassuring observations during individual visits adequately informed decisions about the girls’ continuing safety as relatives reported losing contact with the household.

CCSO’s Office of Professional Standards is conducting an internal review, but Howe argued that review is insufficient when the sheriff has already publicly defended the agency’s actions.

“Emory and Harlow deserve the truth,” he wrote. “Their father deserves to see the file, not to learn about the case on the news.”

Visitation is scheduled from 12:30 to 2:00 p.m. Thursday at Dial-Murray Funeral Home in Moncks Corner, followed by the service and burial at Oak Hill Cemetery.

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THE REPORTS…

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.

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SOUND OFF…

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