Left: Malachi Pressley (Johnson Detention Center). Center: MyAngel Walker (WYFF/YouTube). Right: Taylor Kinard (Johnson Detention Center).
Two South Carolina teenagers were arrested and charged in connection with the murder of another teen who went missing and was later found dead in a burned car.
Malachi Pressley and Taylor Kinard, both 19, were arrested on Dec. 13 and held without bond at the Johnson County Detention Center. Pressley was charged with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime; Kinard was charged with accessory after the fact. The alleged victim was 18-year-old MyAngel Walker, who was first reported missing on Dec. 12 when she didn’t show up for work. Her body was found the next day in a vehicle that had been burned.
According to WHNS, a local Fox affiliate, police said that Pressley shot Walker on the night of Dec. 11 and Kinard helped him dispose of the body. The vehicle where Walker was found was on the side of a road in Greenwood County. Clinton Police Chief Michael Addison said, “She had knowledge of it and she helped.”
When Walker didn’t show up for work at NHC Healthcare’s facility in Clinton on the morning of Dec. 12, police say the circumstances appeared to be suspicious. Laurens Police Chief Heath Copeland said, “It became apparent during the night that we were looking for something a little more than just somebody missing.”
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Sade Woodruff, Walker’s mother, told WHNS that Pressley and Walker had an on-again-off-again relationship leading up to her daughter’s disappearance. She warned others in similar situations, “Anybody that’s going through any type of domestic dispute, being abused, anything, get away. If you are able, get away.”
Pressley and Kinard were both denied bail during a hearing on Dec. 14. WYFF, a local NBC affiliate, reported that Pressley’s next court appearance was set for Jan. 31.
