Woman arrested in connection with death of South Carolina teenager
More than four months after South Carolina teenager Maylashia Hogg and her unborn child were found dead, a woman has been arrested, authorities announced Monday.
Jacqueline Reid, 62, was charged with two counts of murder and booked into the Barnwell County Detention Center, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division said in a news release.
Her arrest came nearly four and a half months after 17-year-old Hogg’s remains were found on Feb. 18 in Barnwell, about 78 miles southwest of Columbia.
At the time of her death, Hogg was pregnant with a baby girl, whom she planned to name Londyn Charity in honor of the teenager’s late mother.
The Barnwell Police Department initially handled the case before the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) took it over.
It was not immediately clear who represented Reid in court, and authorities did not provide information on whether Reid and Hogg knew each other or how.
According to the arrest warrant, Hogg was last seen near Reid’s home in Barnwell on February 8. Authorities believe Reid stabbed Hogg that same day. The teenager was 40 weeks pregnant at the time.
Investigators searched the defendant’s apartment and found forensic evidence.
The arrest warrant listed Hogg’s cause of death as multiple sharp force injuries and multiple stab and cut wounds. Her death was ruled a homicide, according to the warrant.
The family of a teenage mother searched for answers for months
Since Hogg’s death, her family has expressed disappointment at the progress of the investigation. For months, they had neither a cause of death nor a death certificate.
Her cousin Ja’Nearia Rice told USA TODAY in May how much the family was grieving the loss of Hogg and her unborn daughter.
“The following Mother’s Day would have been her first,” Rice said in May. “The family really misses her and baby London. We would have loved her to be there.”
Less than a month after the teenager was found, authorities set up a hotline in the hope of receiving tips.
In a press release, SLED said Reid’s arrest was the result of “a team working tirelessly together to find answers.”
Several departments within SLED worked on the case, including the Special Victims Unit, scientists from the SLED Forensic Services Lab, the SLED Behavioral Science Unit and more.
“No matter where you live, no matter where you come from, everyone in this state is entitled to the same quality of law enforcement,” SLED Chief Mark Keel said in the press release. “Every case is important and every victim is entitled to justice.”
SLED said the investigation is ongoing. The agency asks anyone with information to call the Maylashia Hogg tip line at (803) 896-0281 or email [email protected].
Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY’s NOW team from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757th. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at [email protected].
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