Danielle Locklear's ex-boyfriend weighing plea deal
HOPE MILLS (WTVD) -- A Cumberland County man is weighing a possible plea agreement in the 2014 death of Hope Mills teen, Danielle Locklear.
Je'Michael Malloy, 19, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of his ex-girlfriend.
In April 2014, Malloy confessed to killing Locklear soon after the 15-year-old's body was discovered in the South River.
The murder took place in March 2014. Malloy and his friend, then 18-year-old Dominic Lock, originally faced second-degree murder charges in the case.
Lock, who is accused of helping to discard Locklear's body, pleaded guilty to a first-degree murder accessory charge last year.
At a court hearing Monday, the attorney for Malloy said he is ready to accept a plea deal on capital murder charge that would sentence him from 25 years to life with the possibility of parole. If Malloy goes to trial and is convicted on the first-degree murder charge, he faces the possibility of life without parole.
Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West has said Lock will not be sentenced until Malloy's case is resolved.
Locklear's family told ABC11 Monday they're torn between accepting the plea deal or facing the agony of reliving her death through a trial.
Malloy has four weeks to decide if he'll take the deal as offered. ABC11 will keep you updated with any new developments.
