A woman has been arrested four months after the tragic death of South Carolina teenager Maylashia Hogg and her unborn child, authorities announced Monday.
Jacqueline Reid, 62, now faces two counts of murder and is being held at the Barnwell County Detention Center.
The arrest comes nearly four and a half months after 17-year-old Hogg's remains were discovered on February 18 in Barnwell, roughly 78 miles southwest of Columbia.
At the time of her death, Hogg was pregnant with a baby girl she intended to name Londyn Charity, in memory of her late mother.
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| Maylashia Hogg |
Initially, the Barnwell Police Department handled the case before SLED took over the investigation.
It remains unclear who is representing Reid in court.
An arrest warrant reveals that Hogg was last seen on February 8 near Reid's home in Barnwell.
Authorities suspect Reid stabbed Hogg on that same day.
Hogg was 40 weeks pregnant.
During their investigation, officers found forensic evidence at Reid’s home linking her to the crime.
The warrant lists Hogg's cause of death as multiple sharp force wounds, including stabs and incisions, ruling it a homicide.
Hogg’s family has expressed frustration with the investigation’s progress.
For months, they had no information on her cause of death or a death certificate.
Ja'Nearia Rice, Hogg’s cousin, told USA TODAY on Tuesday that Reid had been spending time with the family as recently as last week.
Rice also mentioned that her cousin lived across the street from Reid and that they had conflicts in the past.
Shockingly, Reid attended Hogg's funeral, spending time with the grieving family.
"I just want to know why,” Rice said.
“Why would you do something like this and then come around the family? She came around the day that Maylashia was found. She came into Maylashia’s yard, sat with the family, and watched them grieve in pain.”
In hopes of gathering leads, authorities opened a tip line just over a month after Hogg was found.
SLED stated that Reid’s arrest resulted from a dedicated team working tirelessly to find answers.
Multiple departments within SLED collaborated on the case, including the Special Victims Unit, scientists from the SLED Forensic Services Lab, and the SLED Behavioral Science Unit.
"No matter where you live, no matter where you're from, everybody in this state deserves an equal level of law enforcement service,” SLED Chief Mark Keel stated in the news release.
“Every case is important, and every victim deserves justice.”
SLED’s investigation is ongoing, and the agency encourages anyone with information to call the Maylashia Hogg tip line at (803) 896-0281 or email [email protected].
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