When they arrived at the house on Wilmington Highway, they found Locklear dead outside. The back door and several windows of the house were busted out.
Family members say it appears she was beaten to death.
Deputies arrested 45-year-old Julio Cesar Ramos shortly after the incident. He has been charged with first- degree murder.
Relatives believe he's a homeless man Locklear had been helping out. They say she recently let the man move into her home, despite repeatedly warning her not to do so.
"She was just a wonderful lady and if she could do anything for you she would," Locklear's sister-in-law Neal Brewington said. "I talked to her, I talked to my ex-husband last night and I said you all need to do something about that man."Sheriff's investigators aren't commenting on a motive for the killing.
Family members say they are not sure if anything inside Locklear's home is missing.
