THE half-brother of a four-year-old girl found dead in a wooded area has been arrested after police claim he suffocated the child and dumped her body in the trash.
William Micah Hester, 17, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with the death of his half-sister, Joanna Lockaby.
Deputies with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office received a call about the missing four-year-old girl at around 2pm on Tuesday.
Little Joanna was found less than 20 minutes into the search after authorities discovered the child's body behind a home in the rural area of Pelzer, South Carolina.
Investigators said Hester suffocated the victim, contributing to her death.
Officials found Joanna's body in a plastic bin behind the home where she lived with the suspect.
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Detectives are still trying to determine a motive for the killing.
Hester is set to appear in court Wednesday afternoon.
Greenville County deputy corner Mike Ellis said the office would treat the find as a "suspicious" death, adding that the child died sometime Tuesday.
Several sheriff’s office patrol cars, the Greenville County Coroner’s van, and a forensics vehicle were pictured lined up on Chevy Chase Boulevard on Tuesday.
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