News Release: Two charged with Homicide by Child Abuse in death of 4-year-old
10/03/2026
Sheriff Leon Lott announces the arrests of Zokeiyah Wyshan McCray (DOB: 12/05/1987) and Helen Shanine Benbow (DOB: 07/06/1967), both charged with Homicide by Child Abuse in connection with the death of a 4-year-old child.
On Friday, October 2, 2026, at approximately 8:40 a.m., Richland County Sheriff’s Department deputies responded to MUSC, located at 120 Gateway Corporate Boulevard, after a 4-year-old child was brought to the hospital and pronounced deceased upon arrival.
During the investigation, medical staff informed investigators that the child had sustained substantial injuries. Investigators observed lacerations throughout the child’s body, multiple head injuries that caused internal bleeding, and multiple burn marks that appeared consistent with contact from a lit smoking material, among other injuries.
Investigators determined McCray and Benbow had been the child’s legal guardians and sole caretakers since May 2026. McCray was the child’s godmother, and Benbow is McCray’s mother. Both women lived with the child in the same apartment.
McCray and Benbow were taken into custody on the evening of October 2 without incident and transported to the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center. Both are charged with one count of Homicide by Child Abuse.
McCray and Benbow are scheduled to appear in Bond Court at 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 3.
Incident report will be posted here once it becomes available.
On background:
1. McCray and Benbow were the child’s current caregivers after his parents surrendered him to them in May 2026.
2. Booking photos are unavailable since the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center’s website is still unavailable, which is why other photos were used for McCray and Benbow.
