On July 20, 2022, Greenville County deputies responded to a report of a missing 4-year-old girl, Joanna Lockaby, at a residence on Chevy Chase Boulevard in Pelzer, South Carolina. Her body was found a short time later inside a plastic bin in a wooded area behind a home. Her 17-year-old half-brother, William Micah Hester, was arrested and charged with murder and kidnapping for confining her in the container. The Greenville County Coroner's Office later confirmed her cause of death as suffocation due to entrapment, and her death was ruled a homicide. The motive remains unknown.
Contexts/Conditions
Is there any mention of child drug ingestion or overdose?
Is there any mention of a drowning incident (either intentional or accidental)?
Is there any mention of a firearm incident?
Is there any mention of inappropriate supervision (e.g., child wandered off and drowned)?
Is there any mention of inflicted injury? (e.g. slapped, punched, kicked, choked)
Document 2 states the Coroner's Office confirmed that "Lockaby died from suffocation due to entrapment." Document 1 states in the arrest warrant that "Hester is charged with kidnapping after he confined the girl in a container that she was unable to escape." The half-brother deliberately confined the child in a container, causing her suffocation. This constitutes an inflicted injury causing death.
Is there any mention of malnutrition, starvation, or dehydration?
Is there any mention of medical neglect?
Is there any mention of a motor vehicle crash or incident?
Is there any mention of a murder-suicide incident?
Is there any mention of outdoor elements (including hot car deaths)?
Is there any mention of prenatal substance exposure (including fetal alcohol syndrome or neonatal abstinence syndrome)?
Is there any mention of sexual abuse?
Is there any specific mention of shaken baby or abusive head trauma?
Is there any mention of prolonged abuse or torture (including restraints, captivity)?
Is there any mention of an unsafe sleeping environment?
Individuals Involved
Was an adoptive parent or guardian involved in the death?
Was a biological father involved in the death?
Was a biological mother involved in the death?
Was a day care worker, babysitter, or nanny involved in the death?
Was a female paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., girlfriend, stepmother)?
Was a foster parent involved in the death?
Was a male paramour or friend involved in the death (e.g., boyfriend, stepfather)?
Was another adult relative involved in the death? (e.g., grandfather, aunt)
Was a sibling involved in the death?
Document 1 states: "deputies said they have charged her half-brother with murder." The 17-year-old William Micah Hester is identified as Joanna Lockaby's half-brother. Document 2 confirms: "her half-brother, 17-year-old William Micah Hester, was taken into custody and charged with murder."
Child Characteristics
Was the child adopted?
Was the child homeschooled (including "cyberschooling") or taken out of school?
Was the child in foster care at the time of the incident?
Was the child living with relatives at the time of the incident (but not parents)?
Is there any mention of a neurological developmental child disability? (e.g., autism, intellectual disability, nonverbal)
Is there any mention of a physical child disability? (e.g., feeding tube)
Is there any mention of prematurity or low birthweight?
Is there a history of child protection reports prior to death (for this child or siblings)?
Does the child have a history of foster care (but not in care at time of incident)?
Is there a history of a sibling death (separate incident from this death)?
Document 1 states: "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." Joe Lockaby died in a separate incident in 2018 when he was "left in a hot car parked outside his grandmother's home on Rogers Avenue." This is a prior sibling death in a separate incident.
Parent/Caregiver Factors
Was an adult charged or arrested for the child's death?
Is domestic violence by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is there any mention that the death occurred in a temporary shelter or while homeless?
Is an intellectual disability of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is the mental health of the parent/caregiver referenced?
Is a history of arrests or criminal charges for the parent/caregiver referenced?
Document 1 states that Joanna Lockaby's brother Joe Lockaby died in 2018 under the care of his grandmother, Janik Nix, who "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." Since Joanna and Joe are siblings, Janik Nix is likely also Joanna's grandmother. Her conviction for the 2018 death of Joe Lockaby predates Joanna's death and constitutes prior criminal history for a family member who may have been a caregiver. However, the text does not explicitly confirm that Nix was a caregiver for Joanna at the time of her death.
Is substance use by the parent/caregiver referenced?
Notable Details
Document 1 reveals that Joanna Lockaby's brother, Joe Lockaby, died in a hot car in 2018 under the care of the grandmother, Janik Nix, who was convicted of assault and battery. This is the second child death in this family within four years, which may raise questions about systemic child welfare oversight failures. Additionally, the perpetrator was a 17-year-old half-brother who was charged with murder but was to be transferred to the Department of Juvenile Justice, and "the motive for the killing is unknown." The case also highlights a significant delay: the Coroner's Office did not confirm the cause and manner of death until nearly two months after the incident (September 27 vs. July 20).
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