A 4-year-old child died at a Columbia hospital with burn marks, lacerations and head injuries that caused internal bleeding, and now two women who served as the child's caretakers are facing homicide charges. Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott announced the arrests of Zokeiyah McCray and Helen Benbow, both charged with one count each of homicide by child abuse in connection with the child's death.
According to wach.com, Richland County Sheriff's Department deputies responded to MUSC Health Columbia Medical Center at approximately 8:40 a.m. Friday after the child was brought in and pronounced dead. Medical staff told investigators the child had sustained substantial injuries, and investigators went on to document lacerations throughout the child's body, multiple head injuries that caused internal bleeding, and burn marks that appeared consistent with contact from a lit smoking material.
McCray and Benbow had been the child's legal guardians and sole caretakers since May 2026, officials said. The outlet's report notes that McCray was the child's godmother and Benbow is McCray's mother, and that both women lived with the child in the same apartment.
Arrests Come After Friday Hospital Response
The two women were taken into custody Friday evening and transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, per officials. As KABB reported, they were scheduled to appear in Bond Court Saturday afternoon. A separate account from the same wire report, carried by thestate.com, specified that both women were booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and were set to appear in Bond Court at 2 p.m. Saturday, with investigators identifying them as Zokeiyah Wyshan McCray and Helen Shanine Benbow.
Another South Carolina Case Raises Similar Charges
The Richland County case comes just days after a separate homicide by child abuse case elsewhere in South Carolina drew statewide attention. In Ladson, Justine May, 31, was charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse after her daughters, Emory Deacon, 33 months, and Harlow Deacon, 15 months, were found dead inside their Pinewood Drive home, according to the Post and Courier. The Charleston County Coroner's Office reported that the girls died from starvation and dehydration due to neglect, and authorities said dispatchers had been called to the address 21 times since August 10, with deputies visiting the home 13 times. An attorney for the girls' father separately told the newspaper that neighbors, friends and family made 38 welfare-related calls to the home in 30 days.
South Carolina's homicide by child abuse statute is codified under Section 16-3-85 of the state code, according to the South Carolina Legislature.
