Naman Shrestha
A promising student named Danielle Locklear mysteriously vanished in North Carolina in 2014, sending shockwaves across the entire community. The consequent search for the 15-year-old led to the discovery of her remains, which led the investigators to launch a homicide investigation. As the detectives delved deeper, a chilling confession cracked the case wide open. The episode titled ‘Murder Lasts Forever’ of Investigation Discovery’s ‘A Killer Among Friends’ chronicles the entire case and the investigation that followed, featuring insightful interviews with Danielle’s loved ones and the officials who helped solve it.
Danielle Locklear’s Remains Were Found Several Weeks After Her Disappearance
On July 10, 1998, in Cumberland County, North Carolina, Danielle Nicole “Dannie” Locklear entered the lives of her parents, Rowna Simmons Fowler and William D. Dawson, as a little bundle of joy. While growing up in Hope Mills, she formed close bonds with her two brothers, Trei Dawson and Donnie Ray Locklear, and her sister, Jazlyn Dannie. Nicknamed Dannie, she was also seemingly amicable with her stepfather, Donnie Ray Locklear Sr., and her stepmother, Jacinta Dawson, after her parents divorced and started new lives. The South View High School freshman was passionate about trying new recipes with her grandmother and baking cakes using new techniques. As her hobbies also included art and crafts, she served as an art teacher at the Youth For Christ Camp at the EH Youth Center in Autryville.
Danielle was also a religious individual, being a member of the Upper Room Prayer House Church. Her dreams and aspirations remained unfulfilled as the 15-year-old girl suddenly vanished on March 11, 2014, after she left her grandfather’s home in the Fox Meadow subdivision in Hope Mills. Worried for her well-being, her family reported her missing and participated in the community-wide searches organized by the authorities. After searching for several weeks, on April 2, 2014, the investigators discovered her remains at the bottom of the South River in Autryville tied with cinder blocks. According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, the cause of her death was asphyxiation, and the manner of her death was homicide.
Danielle Locklear’s Killer Made a Chilling Confession
As part of the homicide investigation, the detectives dug deeper into the life of Danielle Locklear and learned that he had an ex-boyfriend named Je’Michael Malloy, who was close to the Locklear family and reportedly participated in the search parties with her family. Focusing their investigation on Je’Michael, the police searched his house in April 2014 and gathered critical pieces of evidence. Not long after Danielle’s remains were found, on April 8, 2014, the ex-boyfriend came clean to the investigators during an interview and confessed to choking the 15-year-old South View High School student to death on March 11, 2014.
According to police, on the fateful day, Je’Michael and Danielle went to a creek in Hope Mills, driven by their friend, Dominic Tayvon Lock. While Dominic was inside the car, they got out and got into a heated argument. Je’Michael reportedly confessed to choking her to death in the heat of the moment. To cover up his crime, he enlisted the help of Dominic in disposing of her remains, which were weighed down with cinder blocks, in the South River from a bridge on the Cumberland/Sampson County line. Consequently, Je’Michael Malloy was arrested and charged with second-degree murder, while his accomplice, Dominic Lock, was also initially charged with second-degree murder.
While Je’Michael Malloy is Currently Incarcerated, Dominic Lock Has Been Released
In April 2016, Je’Michael D. Malloy refused to take a plea deal offered by the prosecution. However, the following month, on May 6, after a change of heart, the killer accepted the plea deal and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in connection with the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Danielle Locklear. During the sentencing hearing, Je’Michael and his mother apologized to the Locklear family. But Danielle’s mother, Rowna Fowler, took the stand and addressed them, “I’m sorry, but it’s hard for me right now. That was the only baby I had. I can’t have any more children, and you took that away from me. Je’Michael, you ripped out my soul.”
She added, “I can’t watch my baby get her high school diploma. I can’t watch her get married.” Ultimately, Je’Michael was sentenced to between 25 and 31 years in prison for killing Danielle Locklear. The following month, on June 13, 2016, Dominic Lock pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. During the sentencing hearing, Danielle’s mother also responded to Dominic’s apology, stating, “It will never be over. We got some closure. It’s been a long ride, but it will never be over. I’m just glad my baby finally got some justice.”
The accomplice was sentenced to six to eight years in prison, while receiving credit for one year, he had already served behind bars. After spending approximately eight and a half years in prison, Dominic was released from prison. Meanwhile, 30-year-old Je’Michael Malloy is serving his sentence at Marion Correctional Institution in Marion, North Carolina, with a projected release date of December 2040. According to prison records, between 2016 and 2025, he has had 25 infractions in prison, including substance possession, weapon possession, and involvement with gangs.
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