A day after going missing, a South Carolina teen’s corpse was discovered in a charred automobile. Two persons have been arrested.
According to FOX Carolina, when 18-year-old MyAngel Walker failed to arrive at work on Thursday, December 12, her loved ones suspected something was wrong.
Walker’s family reported her missing to the Laurens Police Department, and since she was last seen in Clinton, South Carolina, the Clinton Police Department joined the investigation, the site stated.
“It became apparent during the night that we were looking for something a little more than just somebody missing,” Laurens Police Chief Heath Copeland told FOX Carolina.
Walker’s corpse was recovered the following day in a burned-out truck along McKenzie Road in Greenwood County, according to WOIO TV. WYFF, a South Carolina news channel, published footage of the burnt automobile being removed from a forested location along a road.
According to FOX Carolina, Walker sustained a gunshot wound. No more information regarding the location of the wound or her cause of death has been released.
According to Clinton Police, the individual who injured Walker is 19-year-old Malachi Pressley, whom Walker’s mother, Sade Woodruff, described as her daughter’s on-and-off lover.
Police believe Pressley shot Walker on Gary Street in Clinton between 10 and 11 p.m. local time on December 11, according to FOX Carolina. He has subsequently been arrested and charged with homicide and possessing a firearm during a violent offense.
According to FOX Carolina, 19-year-old Taylor Kinard was also detained in connection with Walker’s killing after police claim he assisted in disposing of his remains. Kinard, charged as accessory after the fact, “had knowledge of it and she helped,” according to Clinton Police Chief Michael Addison.
Pressley and Kinard were refused bail during a hearing on Saturday, December 14, according to the publication.
The Clinton and Laurens police departments did not immediately reply to PEOPLE’s request for comment on Sunday, December 15.
Walker, a recent high school graduate, wanted to be a nurse, her relatives informed FOX Carolina.
“Everything I’ve heard of MyAngel has been, she was a very bright young lady with a very good heart,” Chief Copeland told the site.
“This is a tragedy that should not happen,” she said. “But we’re glad that we were able to get justice for that family really quickly here.”
However, Walker’s mother finds little consolation in the arrests. “We lost a big part of our family,” Woodruff told WYFF. “We’ve lost a fantastic individual. We lost a remarkable individual, a leader.”
She also had this advice for others who heard her daughter’s story: “Be aware of who you’re dealing with, the people you’re surrounded by, and the people you hang out with.”
“If there’s anything wrong, any type of domestics going on,” said Woodruff, “then we ask that you seek help.”
