Teen suspected of killing girl was 'like family'

GREENVILLE, South Carolina (AP) -- Relatives of an 8-year-old girl found raped and slain in an abandoned home said Thursday that the young teenager accused of the crime was like a member of the family.

Authorities will not identify the 14-year-old boy accused of raping and killing Dymia Janae Woody, but relatives said he was a close friend of the victim's older brother and regularly visited their home.

The boy appeared on television after the girl went missing Monday night that he walked her part of the way home before they separated and she disappeared.

"I'm like a safety guy around here," the boy told WHNS-TV. "I walk all the kids home, and it's not an unusual thing. I just do it because I have a little brother and sisters, and I would want somebody to do that for me."

Police said the boy was arrested Wednesday after being identified through DNA samples that he and other neighbors submitted voluntarily. No other arrests are expected.

The boy was scheduled to appear in court Thursday but the hearing was postponed. The county prosecutor's office is expected to decide in coming weeks whether to charge him as an adult. Public defender John Mauldin declined to comment.

The girl was found Tuesday in a closet of an abandoned mobile home, sexually assaulted and asphyxiated. The victim's mother, Renee Woody, said Thursday that she didn't suspect the teen at first, but then he began acting suspiciously and changing his story about the last time he saw the girl.

"I just miss my baby. I wish this was over," Woody said, weeping.

No one answered the door Thursday at the home where the teen is believed to live. A note on the door from a friend offered to bring over a meal and encouraged the family to "keep your heads up."

"This is a terrible thing," said James Flaming, the victim's uncle. "We're still just trying to figure out what to do."

Neighbors say they had felt safe before the slaying in the close Piedmont community about six miles southeast of Greenville.

At the home where the girl's body was found, a memorial was created from dozens of teddy bears, balloons, candles and flowers resting against yellow caution tape. The girl's family can see it from the deck of their home.

"When all this is over, I can't stay there. I'll have to find somewhere else to move," Woody said.

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