Both siblings have left the hospital and entered protective custody while their mother remains accused of trying to kill them.
SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. — Weeks after two young siblings were found seriously injured inside their South Carolina home, the 6-year-old boy’s grandmother has publicly described his recovery as authorities continue prosecuting his mother on attempted-murder and weapons charges.
The grandmother, Jan Marie, spoke to FOX Carolina after the sheriff’s office confirmed that both the 6-year-old and his 3-year-old sibling had been released from the hospital and placed in the custody of the South Carolina Department of Social Services. Their mother, 35-year-old Taylor Gosnell, is accused of attacking them during the night before a Sept. 26 welfare check. She faces two counts of attempted murder and two counts of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. A judge denied bond on the attempted-murder charges. Gosnell has not been convicted.
Marie publicly identified the older child as Dawson and described him as a loving, protective older brother. She told the station she had not seen him in about two years but had been following his progress after learning what happened. Her account put a child’s life and recovery at the center of a case that had previously been known mostly through sheriff’s office statements, bond-court arguments and descriptions of injuries. She also said Dawson had faced serious health challenges earlier in childhood, including short gut syndrome and multiple surgeries. Those medical details came from the grandmother rather than investigators.
Authorities have described the September injuries as severe. Deputies said the two children suffered an estimated 50 wounds between them, and prosecutors said some cuts reached bone. Officials warned soon after the attack that damage to the 6-year-old’s arm was serious enough that amputation was possible. By Sept. 30, the sheriff’s office said the siblings had received nerve grafts and were expected to leave the hospital in the following days. The October report confirmed their discharge. It did not establish that Dawson ultimately lost his arm, and no verified update reviewed for this story provides a definitive answer to that question.
The children came to authorities’ attention after Dawson contacted a grandmother and said he and the younger child were alone and hungry, the sheriff’s office said. That information led family members and then law enforcement to the residence on Bud Arthur Bridge Road. Deputies arrived shortly after 2:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and found both children without an adult. Investigators said they had injuries that appeared to have been caused by a knife. Emergency crews took them to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center, and later reports said they received further treatment in Greenville.
Investigators believe the alleged violence occurred hours before the welfare check. According to the sheriff’s office, Gosnell attacked the children during the night with a knife and a blunt object. Authorities also described significant damage inside the home, including broken televisions and mirrors. Prosecutors have not publicly established why the alleged attack occurred. Although later warrants and police statements provided more information about the weapons and injuries, a full evidentiary account has not been released, and the prosecution’s allegations have not been tested in court.
Marie’s interview also showed the uncertainty families can face when criminal allegations and a child’s medical recovery proceed at the same time. She said she struggled to understand the accusations because her previous experiences with Gosnell did not match what authorities now allege. She recalled seeing Gosnell interact positively with Dawson in the past. That personal assessment does not answer what happened inside the home on Sept. 26, but it reflects the grandmother’s own effort to reconcile earlier family memories with the criminal case now pending.
She also said she believed Dawson protected his younger sibling during the incident. That belief was presented in the interview as the grandmother’s interpretation, not as a conclusion announced by the sheriff’s office. Investigators have not publicly released a detailed account from either child describing the alleged attack. Because of their ages and the seriousness of the case, much of what they may have told law enforcement has appropriately remained outside public reporting.
Gosnell returned to the residence while deputies were still investigating, authorities said. Officers reported that she appeared distressed, spoke rapidly and referred to visions. Because of concerns about her immediate condition, deputies arranged for a medical evaluation. Investigators said she attempted to leave the ambulance and was restrained. She was later medically cleared, and investigators sought to question her. The sheriff’s office said no interview occurred after she requested an attorney. She was then booked into the Spartanburg County Detention Facility.
Those observations have not produced a publicly established explanation for the alleged attack. Authorities have not announced that Gosnell has a particular psychiatric diagnosis or that a mental-health condition caused the events described in the warrants. Reporting on the case has included discussion of possible mental-health concerns, but those concerns remain distinct from a verified medical finding. A person’s apparent distress also does not itself establish criminal intent, which prosecutors would have to prove under the law.
The case widened after Gosnell’s initial booking. Deputies first announced two attempted-murder counts, corresponding to the two children. They later signed two warrants accusing her of possession of a weapon during a violent crime. Gosnell had also been facing two unresolved child-endangerment-related charges from a February 2024 arrest, according to court-record reporting. She had been released on bond in that earlier matter. Authorities have released limited detail about those allegations, and neither the older charges nor the new ones should be treated as a conviction.
For the children, the most important public change has been their move from hospital care to a protective placement. The sheriff’s office told FOX Carolina that they were in Department of Social Services custody after their release. Officials have not publicly detailed where they are living, who is caring for them or the full course of their continuing medical treatment. Those omissions protect information about minors whose injuries have already placed them at the center of a highly public criminal case.
Marie’s comments also gave the public a limited view of Dawson beyond his injuries. She remembered him as a happy child and shared memories from before the September case. Her account did not minimize the seriousness of the allegations, but it shifted attention from the accused adult to one of the children recovering from what authorities describe as a severe assault. It also underscored how much of the children’s future — medically, emotionally and in terms of custody — remains outside the public record.
The criminal case will continue on a separate timetable. Earlier reports listed a November court date for Gosnell, while an Oct. 13 FOX Carolina report said her next appearance was scheduled for Nov. 19. As of Nov. 9, no trial outcome had been reported, the investigation remained active and authorities had not announced a motive. Both children were out of the hospital and outside Gosnell’s custody, while the long-term effects of their injuries remained only partly known.
Author note: Last updated November 9, 2026.