Mother, godmother charged in death of 4-year-old

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS/Gray News) – Two people are facing charges in connection with the death of a 4-year-old in South Carolina.

The Richland County Sheriff’s Department said Zokeiyah McCray, 36, and Helen Benbow, 59, were arrested Friday and charged with homicide by child abuse.

The department said the investigation stemmed from deputies responding Friday morning to a hospital, where a child, identified as Kameron Howell, 4, was pronounced dead.

Medical staff reportedly told investigators that the child was seriously hurt, with lacerations seen throughout their body. The child had also suffered multiple head injuries that caused internal bleeding, as well as burn marks that deputies said “appeared consistent with contact from a lit smoking material.”

It was also found that McCray and Benbow had been the child’s legal guardians and caretakers since May 2026. McCray was the child’s godmother, while Benbow is McCray’s mother. Authorities said the two lived in the same apartment with the child.

McCray and Benbow were booked at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.