South Carolina officials said the defendants were not licensed foster parents, while deputies called them legal guardians.
GREENVILLE, S.C. — South Carolina child welfare officials have clarified the caregiver status of two adults charged after a 4-year-old girl died in Greenville County, saying the pair were not licensed foster parents through the state.
The clarification followed the arrests of Nancy Dianne West, 42, and Bradley Kyle Craig, 46, who face homicide by child abuse charges in the death of Cassie Cheryl Ann Owens. Deputies said West and Craig were the child’s legal guardians when she was found in cardiac arrest April 24 at a home in Travelers Rest. Both were denied bond after their arrests and remained in the Greenville County Detention Center.
The South Carolina Department of Social Services issued one of the clearest public statements in the case after early reports raised questions about whether West and Craig were foster parents. “The individuals in question in the death of the four-year-old in Greenville County have never been licensed foster parents in the State of South Carolina through the Department of Social Services,” the agency said. That statement did not address how Cassie came to live with them or whether another court or family arrangement gave them legal authority over her care.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office has said West and Craig were Cassie’s legal guardians. The difference between those terms became a key part of the public account because licensed foster parents are part of a state-run system, while legal guardianship can be created through other legal steps. In either case, the criminal allegation centers on what happened inside the home before Cassie was found unresponsive. Deputies said investigators determined West and Craig had “deprived the child of proper nutrition.” Officials have not released a detailed report describing the child’s weight, condition, medical history or the evidence used to support that allegation.
The emergency call came from 1318 Chinquapin Road in Travelers Rest, a community about 10 miles north of Greenville. Deputies said first responders were sent there after a 911 call reported an unresponsive child. Cassie was experiencing cardiac arrest and was taken to a hospital, where she later died. Local reports said she died one month before what would have been her fifth birthday. Her obituary listed her birth date as May 23, 2021, and her death date as April 24, 2026.
For investigators, the label attached to a caregiver may affect which records they seek, but it does not end the inquiry. A child death investigation can draw in medical examiners, emergency workers, detectives, social service records and family court files. In this case, officials have not publicly released the autopsy findings, nor have they said whether Cassie had any preexisting medical condition. Local reporting quoted a victim advocate who said homicide by child abuse cases can take time because investigators must review possible alternative causes, including chronic disease, birth defects and other medical explanations, before charges are filed.
The arrests came more than five weeks after Cassie died. Deputies said members of the Fugitive Apprehension Specialized Investigations Team arrested West and Craig at their home in Travelers Rest. They were booked into the county jail, then appeared for bond proceedings. A judge denied bond for both defendants. Their cases were expected to move to the solicitor’s office, where prosecutors will decide how the charges proceed in circuit court. No public trial date has been announced, and no plea has been reported.
The March 2025 history at the Chinquapin Road home adds another unresolved thread. Deputies had investigated an alleged assault there more than a year before Cassie’s death. Craig reportedly admitted hitting a child twice in the back of the head with his hand. Authorities have not said whether that child was Cassie. They also have not said whether the earlier allegation led to charges, intervention, a safety plan or any change in the child’s placement. The unanswered question leaves a gap between the prior police contact and the April 2026 death investigation.
Cassie’s public obituary placed her within a larger family, naming parents, siblings, grandparents, an aunt and cousins. A memorial fundraiser created shortly after her death said money would go toward cremation expenses and laying her to rest. The fundraiser described her as a bright and loving 4-year-old. The public notices did not settle the guardianship questions, but they showed that the child’s death moved beyond police paperwork into grief across family networks in Greenville, Pickens and nearby communities.
West and Craig’s relationship to each other also emerged through local reporting. Court records cited by a local news outlet said they were married in 2021. The sheriff’s office did not state whether or how either adult was related to Cassie by blood or marriage. It also did not identify who had day-to-day responsibility for feeding, medical care or supervision. Those details could become central as prosecutors try to prove each defendant’s role. In homicide by child abuse cases, the state may argue direct abuse, failure to act, or both, depending on the evidence.
The DSS statement narrowed one part of the record but left other oversight questions open. It established that West and Craig were not licensed foster parents through the state system. It did not say whether DSS had prior involvement with Cassie, whether the agency held any records connected to her placement, or whether family court orders existed. Because records involving children are often sealed, those questions may not be answered outside court filings or future hearings. The sheriff’s office has not announced additional arrests.
For now, the public case rests on a short chain of confirmed events: a cardiac arrest call on April 24, a child’s death at a hospital, a weeks-long investigation, and June arrests on homicide by child abuse charges. The next stage is expected in circuit court, where prosecutors will define the allegations in greater detail.
Author note: Last updated July 8, 2026.