Two South Carolina women charged following death of 2-year-old in Florence County
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has charged two women from Florence with homicide following the death of an infant.
On Friday, SLED announced the arrests of Maria Osterhout and Angel Wallace following the death of an unnamed 2-year-old.
Both women have been charged with homicide by child abuse, which carries a penalty of 20 years to life.
The women have been charged with committing “child abuse and neglect under circumstances manifesting an extreme indifference to human life” between June 10, 2019 and April 24, 2022, according to warrants released by SLED.
Neither the warrants nor the announcement specified the child’s cause of death.
Osterhout, 48, has also been charged with three counts of unlawful conduct towards a child. Wallace, 31, has been charged with five counts of unlawful conduct towards a child.
While information provided by SLED does not state what the relationship was between the women and infant, the warrants state that the women had “charge and custody” of the 2-year-old.
Osterhout and Wallace were booked at the Florence County Detention Center on Friday. While both women received a bond hearing Friday, no information was available regarding what bond, if any, was set.
Their first hearing is set for June 6. The case will be prosecuted by the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office.