4-year-old dies then his mother and step-father are arrested, SC officials say
A 4-year-old South Carolina boy recently died and his mother and stepfather were arrested, according to the Oconee County Coroner’s Office.
Isaiah Joseph Dionne was called a homicide victim by Coroner Karl Addis.
Addis said his office began investigating Isaiah’s death at 6:40 a.m. on Sept. 19. That’s 20 minutes after the boy’s parents said he was unresponsive when they called EMS to their home in the 400 block of Forest Acres Circle near Walhalla, according to the coroner’s office.
Isaiah was pronounced dead at the home, Addis said.
Based on an examination of the child at the home, Isaiah’s death was called suspicious and agents with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division were asked to lead an investigation that also included members of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office, according to the coroner’s office.
The child’s mother, Destiny Dionne, and step-father, Joshua Latimer, were arrested by SLED the same night. Both were charged with homicide by child abuse, SLED officials said. Both the 24-year-old Destiny Dionne and 30-year-old Latimer also were charged with two counts each of unlawful neglect of a child and are currently being held at the Oconee County Detention Center, jail records show.
Following a bond hearing, both Destiny Dionne and Latimer are scheduled to return to court on Nov. 13, according to Oconee County judicial records.
Latimer, a nine-year veteran of the South Carolina Highway Patrol, also was fired by that organization that night, according to the South Carolina Department of Public Safety. Latimer was a Lance Corporal who was stationed in Troop 3, which includes Anderson, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens and Spartanburg counties.
Arrest warrants say that both Latimer and Destiny Dionne failed to seek medical care for Isaiah, “who appeared at the time of death to be underweight for his age and malnourished. (His) ribs and other boney prominences were very visible, his eyes sunken into his head and he weighed 21 pounds.”
An autopsy was performed Monday, but no details on Isaiah’s cause of death were released as the coroner said his office is awaiting results from further tests that are to be conducted. The autopsy confirmed that Isaiah’s manner of death was homicide, Addis said.
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This story was originally published September 23, 2025 at 1:19 PM with the headline "4-year-old dies then his mother and step-father are arrested, SC officials say."
