A man charged in the deaths of two young children got an earful from the judge, but not because of what he was charged with.

Police say Matthew Deans caused the crash near Wilmington that killed 2-year-old Dobbs Eddings and his newborn brother, Reed.
        
Deans appeared briefly in court Thursday.

The judge chastised Deans for wearing casual clothes, including a fishing-type shirt and shorts, WSOC-TV reported.

"Why are you going to show up to court dressed like that based on these charges?" the judge said.

A GoFundMe account set up for the children's parents, Gentry and Hadley Eddings, has raised more than $200,000.

The family has seen an outpouring of support from the community.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com