Justine May has since been charged after her daughters, ages 2 and 15 months, were found dead in her home

NEED TO KNOW

• Bodycam footage has been released of two welfare checks that took place at the home of a mom and the two children who died in her care, weeks before the girls’ deaths
• Justine May can be seen in the videos complaining about the visits and talking about her mental health
• May has been charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse after her daughters, Harlow Deacon, 15 months, and Emory Deacon, 2, were found deceased in their South Carolina home on Sept. 29

Authorities in South Carolina have released bodycam footage of two welfare checks that took place at the home of a mom and the two children who died in her care, weeks before the girls’ deaths.

Justine May was arrested on homicide charges after her daughters, Harlow Deacon, 15 months, and Emory Deacon, 2, were found deceased in their Ladson home on Sept. 29, following 13 welfare checks that were conducted by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) at the residence in the weeks before the alleged killings. (Police previously said they “observed no signs of concern.”)

Now, the sheriff’s office has released footage of two of the multiple welfare checks at the Pinewood Drive residence, one from Aug. 30 and one from Sept. 12, offering a look at what happened before May’s daughters were found dead from what the Charleston County Coroner’s Office (CCCO) determined was “starvation and dehydration due to neglect.” Their deaths have been classified as homicides.

In the bodycam footage of the tense Aug. 30 welfare visit, released on Friday, Oct. 9, and obtained by ABC News 4, the caseworker conducting the visit, along with a CCSO deputy, can be heard stating that the reason for the visit to May’s home was “because after the mom and the kids’ father separated, her mental health has apparently declined, and no one has seen these kids in over a week.”

The caseworker with the South Carolina Department of Social Services additionally stated that “the dad has tried” to see the girls, referring to Zack Deacon, the girls’ father and May’s former fiancé. 

According to screenshots of text and email exchanges between May and people she identified as her mom and ex-boyfriend, her family members expressed concern about the children’s safety in the days leading up to the discovery of their bodies.

During the Aug. 30 visit, May — whose social media had shown her increasingly isolating her daughters from her family before their deaths — is seen answering the door and picking up her younger daughter Harlow to hold her.

She can then be heard telling the other individuals, “I’d really rather not have you come in at all,” before they enter the home, however, as part of the welfare check.

May’s two daughters can be seen moving around the home playing as the visit continues, and throughout, May details her relationship with the girls’ father to the caseworker and deputy, stating that he’s shown “erratic behavior” and recently attempted to come by the residence, but she and the girls had been napping.

At one point, May can be heard explaining that Harlow has a diaper rash before checking her child. “I really don’t feel comfortable doing this, to be honest. She’s fine,” she tells the caseworker of the toddler, who she then sets back down.

The caseworker then inquires about the baby’s “rash,” to which May replies, “Yes, she had a diaper rash, like a normal baby does.”

The Sept. 12 bodycam footage, also obtained by ABC News 4, takes place outside of the front door of May’s home. In it, she voices frustration about the number of visits to her residence in the recent weeks.

During that welfare visit, a check conducted by at least one CCSO deputy and Mobile Crisis personnel, she immediately told the pair, “No one can come in,” and she further explained to a deputy that she had “completely cut off” her parents.

“Is it quick? I have my girls to take care of. I’m getting really tired of this,” May later tells the deputy, adding shortly after the welfare visits: “This is like every day at this point.”

One of the people conducting the check asked May about her mental state, including whether she had been hearing or seeing things. She responded that she had not.

May also said that she was not suicidal and she was not struggling with depression or anxiety. She said that the “only thing giving me anxiety” was the multiple welfare checks to her home “time and time again.”

“My family has been taunting the f— out of me,” May said, before accusing her ex and her parents of “harassing” her.

At one point, Harlow came to the door, but May seemingly brought her back inside, stating that she is “really sick of showing [her daughters] to people.”

Neither the Aug. 30 visit or Sept. 12 visit to May’s home, nor any previous visit, resulted “in findings requiring immediate law enforcement intervention,” the CCSO previously said.

The sheriff’s office also said that no welfare checks were made after Sept. 22 — a week before the two girls were found dead — because “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.”

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May was “speaking incoherently” when police met her outside her door on Sept. 29, and she allegedly told police she had been in a “blur” for two weeks and could not remember how many days she had gone without feeding her children.

She allegedly also said she believed the lack of food contributed to their deaths. May has since been charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse.

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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