Siblings Lay Dead for 3 to 5 Days While Mom Was in a ‘Blur’ and Relatives Frantically Texted About KidsSamira Asma-SadequeTue, October 6, 2026 at 10:53 PM UTC
Emory Deacon (left); Justine May (mugshot); and Harlow Deacon/Credit: Charleston County Sheriff's Office (3)
Emory Deacon and Harlow Deacon’s father Zack Deacon says they had been raising alarms about the kids’ safety for days before the children were found dead
Their mother Justine May was arrested on murder charges
Zack’s lawyer tells PEOPLE he was arrested on harassment allegations because he sent police to May’s door in fear of the children’s safety
The toddlers found starved to death in a South Carolina home amid heightened concerns from family members had been dead for several days when police arrested their mother, according to authorities.
Emory Deacon, 2, and 15-month-old Harlow Deacon died from starvation before they were found in their mother’s Ladson, S.C. home on Sept. 29, the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office said last week.
Their mother, 31-year-old Justine May, was arrested after police found her outside “speaking incoherently,” according to an affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.
As the investigation continues, the Charleston County Coroner’s Office said on Tuesday, Oct. 6 the children had died approximately 3 to 5 days before their bodies were found. A joint online obituary for the girls put the date of their deaths as Sept. 24.
The children’s father Zack Deacon has said that this “could and should have been prevented.”
“Neighbors, friends, and family all called trying to get help for these girls, and no one listened,” Zack said in a statement via his lawyer Gedney M. Howe.
“Zack was sounding the alarm and was arrested for it. Seeking justice for Emory and Harlow is the most important thing to this family.”
Howe tells PEOPLE that Zach was arrested on harassment allegations because he sent police to May’s door — a claim May herself shared on her Facebook. Online court records pertaining to the allegations against Zack were not available on Tuesday.
“He was calling the police because he was calling for the safety of his two daughters and nobody was allowed to see them,” Howe tells PEOPLE. “And he was scared something terrible was going to happen to them.”
That Howe had sent police to May’s door is a fact she herself shared on her social media; the police previously said they had made 13 welfare checks at the residence.
On her Facebook, May blasted Zack and her own mother for sending authorities to her door when she didn’t allow the kids to see them.
In the days before the killings, she plastered her Facebook with screenshots of exchanges between her and her mother, as well as between her and Zack, where the girls’ grandma and father, among other relatives, pleaded with her to let them see the children and to get help.
“You have left Zach - that’s your right and your will,” read a text from someone May identified as her aunt. “You may not want or need family - but your children deserve to have them in you lives — you are not only responsible for what you want — you are responsible for two other souls that are embedded in others souls and hearts.”
Emory Deacon with Harlow Deacon.Credit: Justine May/Facebook
A screenshot of an email shared on May’s Facebook on Sept. 13 shows her mother claiming she had not seen the children since Aug. 14.
“Is the boundary you have me blocked from you and the girls?” wrote her mother.
“Whoever this is, reading this, is not love. Whoever would keep the girls locked up in a house neglected, is not love,” the worried grandmother wrote in another part of the email. “Whoever would deny their children access to all the love and joy from their father, grandparents, aunts, uncles, is not love.”
In screenshots of text messages from Zack, he is seen begging May to get help.
“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.”
She alleged he harassed her when she wanted space from him after he lied to her. In one text exchange, Zack claims May is “cruel” for wanting space from the relationship.
Justine May (left); and Emory Deacon with Harlow Deacon.Credit: Justine May/Facebook (2)
Emory and Harlow were “precious bundles of joy” whose lives, albeit short-lived, were “filled with music, dancing, laughter, and the joy of watching Ms. Rachel and Bluey,” read their online obituary.
“Emory had a wonderfully unique personality. She spoke remarkably well for her age and embraced life with a joyful, free spirit,” read part of the tribute. “Harlow was always happy and delighted in sharing her sweet kisses, each accompanied by its own special sound.”
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE’s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
May has been charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse.
She allegedly told police in the two weeks before the children were found, she’d been in a “blur” and could not remember when she’d last fed them, according to her affidavit.
Her online court records did not show plea information as of Tuesday. PEOPLE has reached out to her attorney in her online court docket.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health challenges, emotional distress, substance use problems, or just needs to talk, call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org 24/7.
Source: Crime