Danielle Locklear
“If you see something, say something, you know, because we didn’t know, we didn’t see any signs, we never thought to ask a teenager, ‘is someone hurting you?’”
-Chena Papa, Danielle's aunt
It was the 11th of March 2014. A Tuesday. Fifteen year old Danielle Locklear had moved two hours away from her home in Myrtle Beach to Hope Mills in North Carolina, United States to live with her grandparents and aunt while she attended school there. She had spent the Summer of 2013 at her grandparent's house and loved it so much that she asked if she could return for school.
Danielle's grandparents
Danielle was in freshman year and part of the reason that she wanted to stay with her grandparents was based on the friends she made during Summer camp and her boyfriend. Danielle's boyfriend, Je'Michael Malloy, was a senior at school and at seventeen years old, he was a bit older than her. They met when they both volunteered at a youth center in Autryville. Danielle's family knew Je'Michael's family as they were part of the same Church. He seemed like a nice boy and was respectful and quiet around them. They noticed that there seemed to be tension between them after Church one day and not long after, their relationship ended but then they got back together. That happened a couple of times, they would break up and get back together again. Danielle didn't talk to her family much about their relationship.
That night, the 11th of March, Danielle asked her grandfather if she could drop some homework to a neighbor down the street. It was around 10pm. He said yes and told her not to be long. At that time, he was playing video games and did not realize how late it was. Danielle didn't return home that night and when her grandmother called her on her cellphone, there was no answer.
Danielle Locklear
The next day, Danielle's grandfather told her aunt, Chena Papa, that Danielle went out the night before and still had not returned home. She rang Danielle's mother Rowna Fowler. She was in Myrtle Beach and her sister called her to say that they couldn't find Danielle. Danielle was reported missing later that day to the police.
Danielle's family did not believe she ran away as she seemed happy and loved living in Hope Mills. They began searching for her and set up Facebook groups to notify people that she was missing. Chena contacted Je'Michael and he told her that he hadn't seen her in days. He told Chena that they had broken up a few days before. But he offered to help look for her. He asked them if they had checked certain places and suggested places where she might be.
A day after Danielle went missing, Danielle's aunt found a sock by the creek and the word Help scrawled in mud and that was when police believed that Danielle's disappearance may be as a result of something more sinister than her simply running away. The creek was a spot where teenagers from the area spent a lot of time hanging out at.
Police spoke to Je'Michael. He told them that he didn't see Danielle that day, the 11th of March, and that he was at home studying. His family and one of his friends confirmed he was at home. Police checked his cell phone records and they also confirmed that his phone was at home that night. A number of text messages were sent to girls from his phone.
Je'Michael told police that Danielle was depressed and had tried to kill herself twice. When asked why, he said that she didn't want to be here anymore. He also told Chena that when they broke up, Danielle threatened to drown herself in cold water.
Police checked Danielle's cell phone records. On the 11th of March, at 10.40pm, her phone pinged from a tower near the highway. That led them to focus on a certain area.
Twenty three days after Danielle was reported missing, on the 2nd of April, a detective from the Montgomery Sheriff's Department saw something down by the creek at South River as he drove home across the bridge. He didn't know what it was but it troubled him enough to park his car and investigate. When he went down to the creek, he discovered that it was Danielle's body, floating in the brown water. Her body was bound by nylon rope tied to cinderblocks. The cinderblocks were tied around her waist and ankles.
The Autopsy revealed that the cause of death was asphyxiation. Deep inside Danielle's mouth, the Medical Examiner found a sock. The sock matched the one Danielle's aunt found a day after Danielle was reported missing down by the creek.
Police obtained a search warrant for Je'Michael's house. He lived just one mile from where Danielle's body was found and police did not believe that was a coincidence. But many people believed Je'Michael was not involved. He was well liked in the community. He was described by some as an introvert due to his quiet nature but he had a plan for his life and seemed to have everything in order. He was working hard to ensure he could join the Marines. And he had an alibi for the night Danielle went missing.
Danielle Locklear and Je'Michael Malloy
When police searched Je'Michael's property, Je'Michael appeared calm and in control. He asked the officers questions about the police dog. They found a yellow rope that matched the one that bound Danielle. Inside the garage, they found cinderblocks. That find was significant as the cinderblocks that had been tied to Danielle were distinctive in appearance as they were speckled with pebbles and the cinderblocks found in Je'Michael's garage looked like the exact same ones.
That was not the only significant find. Police found Danielle's cellphone on a highway close to Je'Michael's property. And there was a voicemail on the cellphone that led them to view Je'Michael differently from the introvert that he had been described as. There was a voicemail on Danielle's phone from Je'Michael. He said:
"If you come around me I will kill you."
Police spoke to Je'Michael at the station. They asked him if he was involved in Danielle's death and he denied it. They released him. They looked at his alibi again and further questioning revealed that the only person who actually saw him at home that night was his friend Dominic Tayvon Long. His family were not in the same room as Je'Michael. Four days later, police received a call. Je'Michael wanted to confess.
He told police that the night of the 11th of March, he left the house with his friend Dominic and went to Danielle's house. He threw his wallet against the window to get her attention. The three of them went down to the creek. He said they spoke for a while. He told police that Danielle told him she was pregnant even though she was not pregnant. And she was supposed to take a pregnancy test in front of him.
Je'Michael told police that he told Danielle that if she was pregnant that he would be there for the child but he would not be in a relationship with her. According to Je'Michael that caused Danielle to flip out and hit him and they argued. He grabbed her and was choking her and blacked out. He told police:
"We were fighting. And next thing I knew, she wasn't breathing. And I freaked out."
Je'Michael said when he came to, Danielle wasn't breathing and he asked Dominic, who was standing around 70 yards away, for help. Dominic helped and they both dragged Danielle to the car and put her body into the trunk of the car. Je'Michael told police that Dominic was the one who shoved Danielle's sock in her mouth as she was making noise.
Police spoke to Dominic too and he confirmed that he was there. He told them that Je'Michael ran up to him alone and told him Danielle was dead. At that point, Dominic said that he was in shock and he asked Je'Michael what he was talking about. Je'Michael ran back towards Danielle and Dominic followed him. He saw her on the ground, laying on her stomach.
Dominic Lock
According to Dominic's account to police, Je'Michael asked him to help him with Danielle's body. Je'Michael told him they would both be charged with murder so they needed to get rid of the body.
Dominic told police that he helped Je'Michael move Danielle's body up the creek bed and into the trunk of Je'Michael's car.
Je'Michael told police that he:
"Threw her in the car. Went back home. That's when I got the cinderblocks and the rope, tied her up and put her in the river."
They were both charged with second degree murder. Danielle's family wanted Je'Michael to be charged with first degree murder as they believed it was a planned attack. Neither Dominic nor Je'Michael were eligible for the death penalty due to their age at the time of the crime. However, if convicted of first degree murder, Je'Michael could face life in prison.
After many discussions between the parties involved, plea deals in both matters were agreed.
Dominic was charged with accessory after the fact of first degree murder.
Je'Michael was charged with second degree murder.
Je'Michael Malloy
They both pleaded guilty.
District Attorney Billy West presented the case to the Court. The Court heard that Danielle told her grandfather she was going to a neighbor's house but had instead agreed to get into the car with Je'Michael when he called to the house. She didn't want their relationship to end and wanted to get back together with Je'Michael. The Court heard that he strangled her to death down by the creek and that she died as a result of asphyxiation.
The Court heard that Dominic helped Je'Michael move Danielle's body but did not participate in her murder.
At the sentencing hearing , Je'Michael's lawyer,D.W. Bray, told the Court that they were dealing with children who were dealing with adult situations and operating with juvenile minds. He said:
"All we ask is for the public to remember is that you're talking about a 15-year-old victim and a 17-year-old defendant. And we know 15-year-old kids don't make wise decisions, and neither do 17-year-old boys, and that what he is-a boy."
His lawyer went on to describe Je'Michael as a well mannered teenager who enjoyed fishing and hunting. He told the Court that prior to Danielle's death, Je'Michael never had a violent history or a juvenile record. He said:
"We're not talking about a cold-hearted monster. We're talking about a very decent young man."
He urged the Court to take into account that Je'Michael confessed. When asked why it took him three weeks to do so, while pretending to help Danielle's family look for her, his lawyer put it down to him being young. He told the Court that due to his age, it was not unreasonable that he was quiet for that period of time.
Je'Michael Malloy
Rowna, Danielle's mother, addressed Je'Michael at the sentencing hearing:
"She didn't have no mercy that night.I have not been able to sleep. And then you had the audacity to write me a letter and ask me for an obituary from my daughter's funeral, and you are the one that put her there."
Je'Michael addressed Danielle's family in Court:
"I know there is nothing I can do or say that is going to bring her back. But, I do want to apologize for the actions I made. I know sorry does not cut it, but I want to say I am truly sorry."
Je'Michael Malloy was sentenced to 25 to 31 years in prison. Dominic Lock was sentenced to 6 to 8 years.
Cynthia Malloy, Je'Michael's mother, was horrified by the crime. She said:
"Who is this? This is not my child. He's never been in a fight, he's never been a bully, never been out there robbing and stealing."
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