A 62-year-old woman has been charged with double murder for the death of 17-year-old Maylashia Hogg and her preborn child.
Hogg, of Barnwell, South Carolina, was nine months pregnant with her daughter Londyn Charity and was scheduled to be induced when she went missing on February 8. Her body was found 10 days later in a ditch. An autopsy showed that she and Londyn died of stab wounds.
Evidence led police to the nearby home of Jacqueline Reid, 62. There they found forensic evidence tying Reid to Hogg’s death, resulting in Reid’s arrest.
“She was excited to be a mom,” Robert Payne, Hogg’s cousin, told WACH, adding that Hogg was naming her daughter after her late mother, who died in 2022.
READ: Why a ‘limited government’ has a duty to protect human beings… even before birth
South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED) was involved in the case and said it remains an active investigation.
“No matter where you live, no matter where you’re from, everybody in this state deserves an equal level of law enforcement service,” said SLED’s Special Victims Unit Chief Mark Keel. “Every case is important, and every victim deserves justice.”
“I want to thank everyone who worked tirelessly to help this investigation,” noted Barnwell Police Chief Michael Butts after news of Reid’s arrest. “Please keep Maylashia’s loved ones in your thoughts. We must continue to care for each other, honor Maylashia and Londyn’s memories, and come together to heal.”
While police haven’t revealed a motive, Hogg’s family members told reporters that Reid was a family friend.
“She always was around. She was a friend. She was a friend of the family,” Hogg’s stepfather Michael Sapp said of Reid. “She looked me right in my eyes and told me that she hadn’t seen Maylashia,” he added.
Murder remains one of the leading causes of death for pregnant women, with research finding that it exceeds even the three leading obstetric causes of death: high blood pressure, hemorrhage, and sepsis.
Reid’s first court appearance is scheduled for August 26.
