'This Is My Dad's House': Daughter Says Caregiver Kept Her Dad's Death From Her After $5 Home Deed Transfer

A Maryland woman says she only discovered her father had died three days earlier when she travelled to his Conway, South Carolina, home and was told through a Ring doorbell camera that he was dead, after his caregiver had already been named on a quitclaim deed transferring his house for $5.

Nora Rowland said she had driven from Baltimore to check on her 75-year-old father, Robert Rowland, after becoming concerned that she was hearing from him less often and received no response around Father's Day.

She alleges that caregiver Sarah Smalls, who began caring for Robert Rowland through Griswold Home Care in March 2024, later acquired ownership of his home through a quitclaim deed recorded in April 2024 for $5.

The circumstances of the transfer are disputed. Rowland is challenging the deed and says her father, whom she described as a vulnerable adult with Parkinson's disease and a brain injury, may not have understood the documents he was signing.

Daughter Says Ring Camera Revealed Father's Death

Rowland said she became increasingly worried after her regular contact with her father diminished. She stated that she and her father had previously spoken frequently by FaceTime.

When she arrived at the Conway property, Rowland said she found that the front door had been changed and that a Ring doorbell camera had been installed.

After pressing the doorbell, Rowland said Smalls spoke to her through the device.

'This isn't the way that I wanted to tell you, but your dad died, and there's a bunch of other stuff I have to tell you too. Just wait there,' Rowland recalled Smalls saying.

Rowland said she then learned that her father had been dead for three days. She said she panicked and entered the property through a window that had been kept unlocked for emergencies.

'Everything was different,' Rowland said. 'She had put up all these random photographs of people I'd never seen before. The walls are painted this god-awful highlighter orange.'

Rowland said the home appeared to be occupied by people she did not recognise. She said Smalls returned shortly afterwards, accused her and her partner of breaking in and contacted police.

$5 Quitclaim Deed is Disputed

Documents showed that Smalls began caring for Robert Rowland through Griswold Home Care in March 2024. By the end of that month, he had moved into a senior living facility.

In April 2024, documents named Smalls as Robert Rowland's power of attorney, according to the report. A quitclaim deed dated 17 April then transferred ownership of the Conway home to Smalls for $5.

The deed was recorded before Robert Rowland's death. Rowland disputes the circumstances surrounding its execution and is seeking to challenge the transfer.

Rowland said that when Conway police arrived at the home, Smalls showed officers a deed listing Smalls as the owner. Rowland said she and her partner were handcuffed after being treated as trespassers.

Criminal charges against Rowland were later dismissed. The report did not specify whether her partner faced charges.

A neighbour told officers, according to police body-camera footage, that he had become concerned after seeing furniture removed from the home. The neighbour said Robert Rowland was 'not within his wits at all', but that observation has not been independently verified.

Financial Questions and Ongoing Inquiry

Bank statements showed transfers from Robert Rowland's account to Smalls, including transfers made after his death. The available report did not establish the purpose, authorisation or legality of those transactions.

Horry County Registrar of Deeds Marion Foxworth III stated that his office assesses whether submitted deeds satisfy South Carolina's basic recording requirements. He said the office does not investigate the motives of people involved in a transaction or determine whether a transfer was fair.

Smalls contacted her lawyer when approached for comment about the deed and power of attorney, according to the report. Smalls did not provide her lawyer's contact information and later called police when the news crew attended her home.

Griswold Home Care previously stated that it had no knowledge of the matter. Rowland later provided documents obtained through a subpoena which she says conflict with that earlier response. WMBF reported that Griswold did not return later calls seeking comment.

Rowland's civil challenge to the deed remains unresolved. As of 27 August 2026, Conway police said their investigation was continuing, and the available reporting did not establish that Smalls committed a crime or that the deed is invalid.