SC - Missing 4-year-old girl, Joanna Lockaby, found suffocated by half-brother in Greenville County

[LolaSC]

www.foxcarolina.com

Deputies: 4-year-old suffocated by half-brother in Greenville County​

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PELZER, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Greenville County officials say the search for a young girl ended in a tragic discovery on Tuesday afternoon and deputies said they have charged her half-brother with murder.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office was called to a report of a missing 4-year-old girl, Joanna Lockaby, on Chevy Chase Boulevard just before 2:30 p.m.
Deputies arrived on the scene within approximately 10 minutes of receiving the call, according to Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis. After deputies talked to the family and got a description of Joanna, they started a search.
Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis gives an update after a missing 4-year-old was found deceased in Pelzer.
Investigators found the girl’s body in a plastic bin in a wooded area behind a home a short time later.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office arrested 17-year-old William Micah Hester on Wednesday in connection with Joanna Lockaby’s death.

William Micah Hester(Greenville County Sheriff's Office)
Investigators said Hester, who was the victim’s half-brother, suffocated her.
According to the arrest warrant, Hester is charged with kidnapping after he confined the girl in a container that she was unable to escape.
The Greenville County Sheriff’s Office arrested 17-year-old William Micah Hester on Wednesday in connection with Joanna Lockaby’s death.
He appeared in bond court Wednesday afternoon where he was denied bond. He will be held in the Greenville County Detention Center until he is transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
The Greenville County Sheriff's Office said a child's body was found shortly after a 4-year-old was reported missing in Pelzer.
The motive for the killing is unknown.
An autopsy for the girl is scheduled for Thursday morning.
The Greenville County Coroner’s Office confirmed Joanna Lockaby was the sister of Joe Lockaby, a 1-year-old boy who died in Greenville County in 2018.
According to investigators, Joe Lockaby was left in a hot car parked outside his grandmother’s home on Rogers Avenue.
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1 Joe Lockaby

Janik Nix, the boy’s grandmother, was initially charged with homicide by child abuse. She pleaded guilty to assault and battery and was sentenced to 10 years in prison suspended to three years of probation.
Stay with FOX Carolina for updates on this developing story.

Bond hearing for Janik Nix
Copyright 2022 WHNS. All rights reserved.

 

[tlcya]

wow this one has a lot of moving pieces. How much tragedy can one family have? The 2018 death of Joanna's brother at age 1 in a hot car, now this?

 

[LadyL]

he has dead eyes

 

[Lusitana]

This is so sad.

 

[Doghairrules]

I need to know a lot more details about how this happened and why. I realize we may never get those details, but it seems like there's a LOT going on in this family.

 

[Lusitana]

I need to know a lot more details about how this happened and why. I realize we may never get those details, but it seems like there's a LOT going on in this family.

It sounds like he put her inside a plastic box and the poor child wasn't able to get out. He is old enough to know that's dangerous though.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Sincere condolences to her family.

 

[realanastasia]

Half brother faces new charge for putting 4-year-old in container she could not escape, warrant says

Investigators filed a new charge Wednesday afternoon against the 17-year-old half-brother of a child found dead Tuesday behind a Greenville County home.

www.wyff4.com

““I love my son. He’s a good boy,” Hester's father, William Hester, said.

Family of both Hester and Lockaby were at the bond hearing.

“I know in my heart Micah would not do anything like this on purpose," Hester said. "If he did, he was out of his mind. Crazy.”

Hester's father spoke to the judge, through tears Wednesday.

“Micah would not do anything like this on purpose. He wouldn’t I know my boy, and I can hold my hand up to the Lord and testify that. He’s a good boy. He’s never been in trouble. He loved his sister," he said.

A judge denied bond for Hester Wednesday afternoon.

“We’ve lost little Joanna," Hester said. "I just don’t want to lose my son. I’m just asking you to have mercy on him.””

 

[neesaki]

So terrible. I can’t even imagine. He should have known better, right?

 

[ChatteringBirds]

So terrible. I can’t even imagine. He should have known better, right?

I do wonder what diagnoses he may have. Disability, mental health issue, or substance abuse issue? Etc.
There must be something very significant.

 

[ZeeSkunk626]

This can't be another "mistake", possible Grandma had a false confession. They always said her story didn't make sense. Yeesh, what a nightmare.

 

[borndem]

This made me dizzy. I had to read thru it 3 times to unfold it. I feel sure that the 4 y/o was making noise & crying after she was put in that container -- probably not for long, however, but Micah had to have heard it, IMO. And he didn't do anything about it. That's the most damning part.

Did it really happen that way? Did the boy say he had done it? If he didn't confess it, there must have been something that made LE and his father sure that he was the one. Was no one helse in the house? Note: I'm not trying to make him look like he didn't do it, not in the least, but I would like more details on why LE and his dad are sure that's what happened.
What a horrible sad thing this is.
Another angel, gone way too soon.

 

[CastlesBurning]

Coroner releases cause of death for 4-year-old killed in July

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The Greenville County Coroner’s Office released new details on the 4-year-old who was allegedly killed by her half-brother in July.

Deputies said Joanna Lockaby was tragically found dead inside a plastic bin near her house on July 20, 2022. Shortly after the discovery, her half-brother, 17-year-old William Micah Hester, was taken into custody and charged with murder.

While deputies believed Hester suffocated Lockaby, the Coroner’s Office never confirmed the child’s cause of death.

Today, the Coroner’s Office confirmed that Lockaby died from suffocation due to entrapment. They added that her death was ruled a homicide.

Hester remains in custody after he was denied bond in July. We will update this story as the case develops.

Copyright 2022 WHNS. All rights reserved.

 

[ChatteringBirds]

Bumping up. I can't find any updates since 2022 regarding the criminal case but will keep this on my watched list.