3 people arrested in connection to deadly shooting and kidnapping of 15-year-old in South Carolina

An 18-year old and two minors are accused of kidnapping and shooting a 15-year-old girl in a remote part of South Carolina.

Treveon Nelson and the two others were charged with murder, kidnapping, criminal conspiracy and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, arrest warrants say.

The names of the minors, a boy and a girl, will not be released because they are under 18, according to the Lexington County Sheriff's Office.

The trio fatally shot Sanaa Amenhotep, 15, in a field in Leesville, according to the sheriff's office.

Police say Amenhotep was lured into and held in a stolen car as the group traveled from her Richland County home to Leesville.

Amenhotep was found shot to death on April 28, weeks after she had been reported missing on April 5. She left in the car with others and didn’t return, then was reported missing. 

The suspects and the victim allegedly knew each other.

“This is a complex and multilayered investigation,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “Over the past few days, we talked a lot with the two minors as we were searching for Nelson. Based on information from those interviews, detectives determined there was probable cause to arrest the teens. Nelson was arrested in this case as soon as we found him Friday evening.”

“She was a huge personality with a heart of gold,” Gwen Baker told The Post and Courier, speaking of Amenhotep. “She was a social butterfly who wasn’t afraid to challenge injustice.”

Nelson is being held at the Lexington County Detention Center after a magistrate denied his bond. In South Carolina, only a circuit court judge can set bond on a murder charge. 

He also faces charges from the Springdale Police Department of criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping and felony assault in connection to a separate incident on April 25, according to The Post and Courier.

The minor boy ale and girl are being held at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center and the South Carolina Department of Juvenile Justice, respectively.