Report: Ex-boyfriend confesses to killing Danielle Locklear

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Police say the ex-boyfriend of a North Carolina teen missing for a month has been charged in her death.

Authorities say 17-year-old Je'Michael Malloy of Autryville was charged Tuesday with second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Danielle Locklear.

Locklear was reported missing March 11. Hope Mills Police Chief Joel Acciardo said Tuesday that Malloy admitted to choking the Hope Mills teen that night, stuffing a sock in her mouth, tying her body to cinder blocks and throwing it in the river. The couple had reportedly been arguing before Malloy allegedly choked Locklear to death.

An off-duty Cumberland County detective found a body in the South River on April 3. It hasn't been positively identified, but police say Malloy confessed that was it Locklear. The same detective who spotted Danielle's body is reportedly the one who convinced Malloy to confess, Chief Acciardo said.

According to the Facebook pages of Danielle and Malloy, the teens began dating in June 2013.

While the search for Danielle was ongoing, Malloy wrote "Got me crying" March 15 under a photo of Danielle posted by one of her friends.

He is one of the nearly 12,000 people who follow the Facebook page established by family members to keep people updated about the investigation, according to fayobserver.com.

Another man, 18-year-old Dominic Lock, is charged with conspiracy for allegedly helping Malloy. Both were expected in court Wednesday.