Teenager arrested in death of 4-year-old SC girl; authorities reveal cause

The 17-year-old half brother of a 4-year-old girl found dead in the woods in Upstate South Carolina has been charged with her murder.

The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release they believe William Micah Hester suffocated Joanna Lockaby and put her body in a plastic bin behind the home where they both lived on Chevy Chase Boulevard in Pelzer, South Carolina.

Her body was found Tuesday afternoon.

Hester was arrested Tuesday and was denied bond Wednesday afternoon. He will be transferred from the Greenville County Detention Center to the Department of Juvenile Justice.

The sheriff’s Office said it is continuing to search for the motive for the killing.

The girl’s older brother, Joe Lockaby, died four years ago after being left in a car by his grandmother. He was 18-months old and Joanna was a baby.

Janik Nix was originally charged with homicide by child abuse, but pleaded in 2019 to assault and battery, court records show. She was sentenced to 10 years, which was suspended with completion of three years of probation.

This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 10:15 AM.