Authorities in South Carolina have charged a state trooper and his wife with homicide by child abuse following the death of a 4-year-old boy who was discovered severely malnourished, weighing just 21 pounds.
According to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Joshua Emanuel Lamar Latimer, 30, and Destiny Shay Dionne, 24, face charges of homicide by child abuse and unlawful conduct toward a child in the death of Isaiah Dionne.
Deputies from the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office responded in September to a home on Forest Acres Circle in Walhalla, about 45 miles west of Greenville, where they found the unresponsive child. Police said Isaiah appeared extremely underweight, with visible ribs and sunken eyes, conditions consistent with long-term starvation.
Investigators allege Isaiah was locked inside a closet, forced to sleep on a blanket instead of a bed, and drink water from a toilet. The windows in his room had been covered with curtains stapled shut, officers said.
During a bond hearing, Tenth Circuit Solicitor Micah Black described the horrifying scene encountered by first responders:
“He was basically skin and bones, for a lack of a better word,” Black stated. “One of the EMS personnel basically described it as … similar to something you’d see on TV, to starving children in Africa.”
Latimer, a South Carolina Highway Patrol trooper, was terminated following his arrest. Both he and Dionne remain held at the Oconee County Jail without bond.
WHNS-TV reported that Isaiah had lived with his maternal grandmother for the first two years of his life before moving in with his mother and Latimer. Once under their care, he was allegedly treated differently from his younger sibling, who appeared well-fed and healthy.
Authorities said Isaiah had not seen a doctor for over two years. Neighbors told investigators they found it strange how eagerly the boy devoured full-sized adult meals when they brought food to the family.
The presiding judge denied bond for Dionne, citing the severity of the allegations. Both suspects face between 20 years to life in prison if convicted.
The child’s obituary described Isaiah as “the most beautiful baby boy” with a radiant smile and a contagious laugh that “could light up a room.”
