FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Family members of murdered Hope Mills teenager Danielle Locklear were back at the Cumberland County Courthouse on Tuesday as the two teenaged defendants appeared on the court calendar for the day.
The father of the accused killer, Je’Michael Malloy, was also there, and he took time to speak to Locklear’s family.
In April 2014, Malloy confessed to choking Locklear to death. He is now charged in her death, along with Dominic Lock who is accused of helping Malloy dump Locklear’s body in the South River in Autryville.
Malloy was 17 at the time. Lock was 18.
The names of both teenagers were once again on the court calendar Tuesday, but Locklear’s family said the district attorney told them the dates were another administrative placeholder. Neither defendant was expected in court.
“It doesn’t really matter. We are going to be here every time,” commented Locklear’s grandmother Darline Heegel. “We are going to be here for her. That’s why we have all our family here. No would should be able to not have justice for something of this magnitude – no one.”
The DA took time to meet with the family and provide an update. The DA’s office is still awaiting the investigation file from the Hope Mills Police Department before moving the case forward to a grand jury, the family said.
“Every opportunity we can — justice for my daughter,” explained Locklear’s mother Rowna Fowler. “Until she gets justice served, we’re going to be right here — family and friends.
“They’re doing the best that they can. So I believe that everything will work out.”
Malloy’s father, Willie Malloy, was also at the courthouse in case his son appeared in court. Afterwards, first the time since Locklear’s body was found, he spoke to Locklear’s family, which he considers in-laws. He married a member of Locklear’s extended family several years ago, and they adopted Je’Michael, but they are no longer together, he said.
“Yeah, I’ve been knowing the family for a long time,” Willie Malloy said when asked if he’d ever had an opportunity to speak to Locklear’s family. “I’m sorry. There’s nothing I can say but, ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry about all of this.’ There’s nothing I can do. I just wish it never would have happened.
Willie Malloy went on to say his son hoped to become a Marine. He said during visits to jail the two have talked about his son’s future, which is now forever changed. They have not talked much about the specifics of Locklear’s murder, however.
“Je’Michael was a good fellow, but I don’t know what went wrong,” Willie Malloy said. “To me, I feel like he had somebody influencing him in all this.
“I want to understand too. I don’t understand.”
