Chester SC parents arrested in NC, charged with homicide in child malnutrition case
The parents of an infant found dead last May in a Chester County home have been arrested in North Carolina and charged with homicide by child abuse, officials said.
Shederick Dashun Gallman, 22, and Natricia Wright, 21, were arrested late Thursday in Union County, N.C., said Chester County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Grant Suskin. The two who were arrested by Union County, N.C., deputies are the parents of the child, Suskin said.
The child, a boy, was found dead May 20 at the home, Chester County Coroner and sheriff officials said. The child had chronic malnutrition, according to police documents obtained by The Herald
The child died after the parents showed “extreme indifference to human life by failing to provide adequate food or health care,” according to arrest warrants in the case.
Agents with the State Law Enforcement Division child fatality task force also responded in May. SLED agents are required under S.C. law to investigate all deaths of minors under age 17. No details have been released about how long police had been seeking Gallman and Wright.
Gallman and Wright were expected to appear in a North Carolina courtroom Friday, officials said. Both are being held without bond at the Union County, N.C jail., records show.
Homcide by child abuse is defined in South Carolina as someone who “causes the death of a child under the age of eleven while committing child abuse or neglect, and the death occurs under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life,” or a person who “knowingly aids and abets another person to commit child abuse or neglect, and the child abuse or neglect results in the death of a child under the age of eleven.”
Homicide by child abuse carries a potential punishment of up to life in prison for a conviction under South Carolina law.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
This story was originally published August 21, 2020 at 10:33 AM.
