Chilling bodycam footage showed the moments when two South Carolina children were still alive just weeks before they would be found dead in their home from starvation.
asserted
they → chill → starvation
Justine May, 31, was arrested on homicide charges for the deaths of her children, Harlow Deacon, 15 months, and Emory Deacon, two, on September 29.
uncertain
May → arrest → September
The children were found deceased in their Ladson home by police.
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children → find → police
The coroner ruled the children died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect.
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children → rule → neglect
At least 13 welfare checks were executed at the home in the weeks leading up to the killings.
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checks → execute → killings
Footage released by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office shoed officers performing two welfare checks on August 30 and September 12, revealing a glimpse into the children's home in the weeks before.
During one of the checks, May appeared confrontational when she opened the door to find police there again, body camera footage showed.
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footage → release → police
'How can I help you?' she asked when she opened the door, kids screaming and dogs barking behind her.
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dogs → help → her
'No one can come in.
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one → come → ?
When she was asked to step outside for a chat, she appeared aggravated, asking: 'Why?'
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she → ask → chat
Justine May, 31, has been arrested for allegedly killing her two children, Harlow Deacon, 15 months, and Emory Deacon, two
Police have released bodycam footage of two separate wellness checks, where the children appeared happy and safe
Officers asked if she was hearing any voice or going to harm anyone, to which the mother-of-two replied no, and said her ex-fiancé was making up a mental health crisis.
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fiancé → arrest → crisis
When police asked the mother to tell her side of the story, she replied: 'I don't want to tell it.
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I → ask → it
The police know.
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police → know → ?
I'm not doing this at all.
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I → do → this
I'm not telling my side at all.'
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I → tell → side
She went on to claim her ex and her mother are 'crazy' and continuously calling the police on her.
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ex → go → her
The mother told police this while holding one of her children, while the other crawled near her feet.
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other → tell → feet
During the August 30 visit, police were allowed inside her home, which appeared orderly and clean, bodycam footage showed.
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footage → allow → home
Her children followed her around as authorities stood inside their home.
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authorities → follow → home
A social worker told the mother the wellness check was being conducted due to no one seeing the children in over a week and that their father, Zack Deacon, had tried to see the girls.
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father → tell → girls
He also told May that it had been alleged that since her separation with the children's father that her 'mental health has apparently declined.'
May denied this, however, stating it was Zack who was showing 'erratic behavior' when he came by her home.
When a case worker noticed her toddler had a rash, the mom replied: 'Yes, she had a diaper rash, like a normal baby does.'
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baby → tell → rash
When deputies found her children, she allegedly told police she was in a 'blur' the past few weeks and didn't remember when she had last fed her children
The coroner ruled the children died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect
At least 13 wellness checks had been call to the mother's home prior to their deaths
Their father, Zack Deacon, is asking for a review of conduct into police.
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father → find → police
'Emory and Harlow deserve the truth,' his lawyer Gedney Howe said in a statement
None of the visits resulted in deputies finding any concerning behavior, the sheriff's office previously stated.
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office → deserve → behavior
No welfare checks were made after September 20, a little over a week before the girls would be found dead.
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girls → make → September
On September 22, the sheriff's office made the decision to stop going to May's home.
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office → make → home
'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,' Sheriff Carl Ritchie said in a statement.
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Ritchie → make → statement
When police arrived at her door on September 29, the mom allegedly admitted she had been in a 'blur' for two weeks and couldn't remember the last time she fed her children.
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she → arrive → children
Deputies then found the children's bodies inside the home.
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Deputies → find → home
The Sheriff's Office is now working through the bodycam footage of the welfare check to create a timeline of the girls' deaths, Ritchie said at a press conference.
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Ritchie → work → conference
Zack, through his lawyers, has asked for a review of conduct into how the police handled the case.
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police → ask → case
'Emory and Harlow deserve the truth,' lawyer Gedney Howe wrote in a statement.
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Howe → deserve → statement
'Their father deserves to see the file, not to learn about the case on the news.'
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father → deserve → news
The Daily Mail has reached out to Zack's lawyers for comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
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