A 9-year-old boy died last month after being found unresponsive inside a rural Fort Lawn home, and his parents now face felony charges after investigators said he had suffered days of diarrhea and vomiting without getting medical help. Rick Elliott Adkins, 41, and Katie Hill Hefner, 40, were each charged with two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, one count tied to the boy and one tied to his 12-year-old sister.
According to the Rock Hill Herald, the boy had been sick with diarrhea and vomiting for four days before he was found unresponsive, and Adkins and Hefner failed to get him timely medical attention or treatment. The Chester County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to a home on Lawndale Circle on Sept. 20 after a call about an unresponsive child, according to wsoctv.com. EMS took the boy to MUSC Lancaster, where he was pronounced dead, the station reported.
The Herald also reported that the couple's 12-year-old daughter has apparent developmental and cognitive concerns and has not attended school since 2020. Investigators said Adkins and Hefner failed to obtain appropriate medical evaluations, routine healthcare or developmental services for the girl.
Feces Found Throughout the Home
Investigators who searched the property found hazardous and unsanitary conditions inside, including animal feces throughout the residence and dried human feces on clothing, floors and walls, the station's report states. Authorities said those conditions placed the children living there at an unreasonable risk of harm to their health and overall safety. The boy's identity and his sister's identity have not been released, and authorities have not released additional details about the circumstances of his death, per the same account.
No charges have been filed specifically in connection with the child's death, and his autopsy results remain pending, according to the Herald. The Chester County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division are conducting an ongoing death investigation; under South Carolina law, SLED is required to participate in child fatality probes. The station likewise said the investigation into the boy's death remains active and ongoing.
What the Charges Carry
Unlawful conduct toward a child is a felony under South Carolina law, and the statute prohibits placing a child at unreasonable risk of harm affecting the child's life, physical or mental health, or safety, per the South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 63, Chapter 5. A conviction carries up to 10 years in prison, according to South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 16, Chapter 15. As of Oct. 9, Adkins and Hefner remained in the Chester County jail, the Herald reported.
A Broader Pattern of Preventable Deaths
The case adds to a string of recent South Carolina child-welfare cases drawing scrutiny. In Charleston County, the sheriff said deputies saw no signs that two young children later found dead were in distress during several visits to their home, according to The Post and Courier. Separately, authorities said two young children found inside a Ladson-area home had been dead for several days, per WGEM, while two women were charged with homicide by child abuse after a 4-year-old died from multiple severe injuries at a South Carolina hospital, according to WYFF 4.
Statewide data underscore how often such tragedies occur. The South Carolina State Child Fatality Advisory Committee reviewed 473 child-fatality cases from 2019 through 2024 in its latest annual report, according to Children's Trust of South Carolina. The committee found that accidental deaths made up 24% of cases reviewed, not counting motor-vehicle fatalities, while homicides, mostly involving gun violence, accounted for 20%, and suicides made up 10%. The Fort Lawn case remains an open investigation, with no additional details released about what ultimately caused the boy's death.
