Teenager accused of killing 4-year-old half-sister

Pelzer, South Carolina: Yesterday, Tuesday, July 19, officers with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office responded on a call of a missing 4-year-old girl at about 2:20 pm.

By 2:45 pm they had located the body of 4-year-old Joanna Lockaby in a plastic container in a wooded area behind the home where she lived with her half-brother 17-year-old William Micah Hester.

Joanna was pronounced dead at the scene.

Yesterday evening Hester was arrested and charged with murder. He is due to appear in court this afternoon at 2:30 pm for a bond hearing. Currently he is being held at the Greenville County Detention Center.

WLOS reports that Hester confessed to suffocating the child.

The matter remains under investigation as officers are still seeking a motive for the killing.