Charge upgraded in slaying of Hope Mills girl
The former boyfriend of a Hope Mills teen whose body was found in the South River last year was indicted Wednesday on a charge of first-degree murder.
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Je'Michael Devanair Malloy, 19, of Autryville, had previously been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Danielle Nicole Locklear. Because he was under 18 at the time of the alleged crime, prosecutors said, he cannot face the death penalty if convicted.
Locklear, 15, a freshman at South View High School in Hope Mills, had been missing for three weeks when her body was found April 3, 2014, in the South River near the Cumberland-Sampson county line. Authorities said Malloy confessed to strangling her, watching as another teen stuffed a sock down her throat and tying her body to cinder blocks before tossing her into the river.
The second teen, Dominic Tayvon Lock, 19, pleaded guilty last month to being an accessory after the fact of murder.
Lock's sentencing has been put on hold until Malloy's case is handled. As part of his plea agreement, he could provide testimony in the trial.
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