Two people have been arrested in connection with the murder of an 18-year-old from South Carolina, who disappeared last week while on a date with someone the teen had met online.
18-year-old Jacob Williamson, previously known as Kierstyn before identifying as a male, was found dead following the date.
On the morning of Sunday, July 2, Williamson’s family reached out to the Union County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina to report him missing. He had last been seen or heard from on the previous Friday, June 30. A search was initiated based on a lead suggesting that Williamson might be located at a house in Monroe, North Carolina.
According to the authorities, Williamson had been in online correspondence with a man, Joshua Newton, for about a month. Their first physical meeting was scheduled, and Newton reportedly met Williamson at his place of work in Laurens, South Carolina. He then drove Williamson over two hours back to his home in Monroe.
The investigation led to a disturbing discovery on July 5, Wednesday, when a body presumed to be Williamson’s was found a few miles from Newton’s residence. Following this, both Joshua Newton, 25, and his live-in partner, Victoria Smith, 22, were detained in connection with the case. Charges of first-degree murder and obstruction of justice have been leveled against Newton, with the suspicion that he murdered Williamson. Smith faces charges of obstruction of justice and being an accessory after the fact, accused of aiding Newton in hiding the body.
A family friend disclosed that Williamson, born as Kierstyn, had begun his transition to male and had chosen the name Jacob. The homicide investigation is ongoing.