Teen Strangled 4-Year-Old Half-Sister, Stuffed Her Body In Bin Behind Their Home: Cops

KEY POINTS

William Micah Hester was arrested Tuesday
He faces murder and kidnapping charges
The exact motive behind the murder is not known

Greenville County, South Carolina, -- A teen boy in South Carolina has been arrested for allegedly murdering his 4-year-old half-sister and stuffing her body in a plastic bin behind their home.

The 17-year-old suspect, William Micah Hester from Pelzer, was arrested after police found the body of his missing half-sister, Joanna Lockaby, in a bin that was left in a wooded area behind their home, Law & Crime reported.

Deputies arrived at the residence after receiving a 911 call about a missing girl Tuesday. Hester was taken into custody after officers located Lockaby's body.

"Investigators believe Hester suffocated the victim, contributing to her death," the Greenville County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Wednesday.

In addition to the murder charges, Hester faces kidnapping charges as he "unlawfully seized and confined" the child "in a container that she was unable to escape from," WYFF 4 reported. Hester was sent to the Greenville County Detention Center.

Investigators have not revealed the exact motive behind the murder and are awaiting an autopsy report to determine the cause of her death.

"We're still trying to uncover what led up to her death. What the motive behind her death was, and a lot of that is going to be pending the autopsy," Lt. Ryan Flood said.

At a bond hearing Wednesday, Hester's father said he was sure his son would not do anything like this on purpose and urged the judge to have mercy on him.

"If he did, he was out of his mind. Crazy," the father said. "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 added.

However, the judge denied him bond.

"Anytime we find a small child out in a wooded area, we treat that as a suspicious death and we work down. That's to make us not … miss anything. If you start looking at it as something other than that, you might miss something," Deputy Coroner Mike Ellis told WYFF.