South Carolina – South Carolina law enforcement officials announced at the bond hearing that the coupIe facing charges in the case of a 4-year-oId chiId’s death have been formally charged with homicide by chiId abuse and unIawfuI conduct toward a chiId. The accused are 30-year-old J. Lattimer and 24-year-old D. Dione. The mother and her spouse stand accused of the abuse-related death of the woman’s chiId, lsaiah, found unresponsive in the couple’s home in South Carolina.
Both defendants are accused of homicide by child abuse and two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, charges that the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division says grew out of evidence uncovered during its investigation. The 3-year-old man, a former South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, and the mother, were arrested in mid-September and have been held in the county detention center.
South Carolina authorities say emergency crews were dispatched to the family’s home after both defendants reported the child was unresponsive. First responders and the county coroner were called to the scene. The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division later classified the child’s death as a homicide after an autopsy and other preliminary work, and the coroner requested toxicology testing before a final cause of death is released.
During the bond hearing and in arrest affidavits read by prosecutors, officials laid out a series of alleged abuses and living conditions investigators found inside the home. Prosecutors told the judge that the child was severely underweight and malnourished — SLED investigators reported the boy weighed about 21 pounds, with sunken eyes and very visible ribs and bones — and that evidence inside the home suggested prolonged neglect and mistreatment.
Those allegations include claims that the child was confined in a closet at times, forced to sleep on a blanket rather than a bed or mattress, and denied ordinary access to drinking water, which investigators said led to him drinking from the toiIet. Those details were presented as allegations in court and are part of SLED’s continuing investigation.
The investigation was led by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, which obtained arrest warrants and affidavits describing the condition of the child and the household. The warrants allege that both adults placed Isaiah and a 2-year-old boy in unreasonable risk of harm. The younger child was removed from the home and is now in state custody while investigators and child welfare officials complete their work. Prosecutors in the 10th Circuit will handle the criminal case.
Responding crews told investigators the 4-year-old was cold to the touch when they arrived and showed visible signs of extreme malnutrition, prompting the coroner to treat the death as suspicious. The parents told dispatchers and first responders that they had found the child unresponsive and called 911. Those initial statements by the adults are recorded in the arrest affidavits and are part of the official record; prosecutors say available evidence at the scene contradicted the parents’ claims about the child’s recent care. Officials have said they are awaiting the results of toxicology and other tests before finalizing the medical cause of death.
The case remains active. Officials have urged anyone with relevant information to contact SLED or the 10th Circuit Solicitor’s Office. Meanwhile, the criminal process will continue: motions and evidentiary hearings are likely to take place before any trial date is set. The coroner’s final findings, including toxicology results, will be important to the prosecution’s medical evidence and have not yet been publicly released.
