Background: Connie Graham in court on June 25 (Tonya Brown/WPDE). Inset: Sara Graham (Federal Bureau of Investigation).
A North Carolina woman whose teenage stepdaughter went missing more than a decade ago was charged with the girl's murder.
Connie Graham, 65, was arrested on Thursday in connection with the presumed death of her stepdaughter, 18-year-old Sara Graham, who was last seen alive in February 2015. Sara Graham was declared dead on June 1; her body has never been found. WRAL reported that the Robeson County Sheriff's Office and the FBI worked together in 2023 for a new search of Connie Graham's home after receiving fresh leads on Sara Graham's disappearance.
Police said Connie Graham's two sons, 42-year-old Bobby Matthew McLellan and 29-year-old Luke Locklear, were also arrested and charged with conspiracy and altering or destroying evidence. McLellan was also charged with accessory after the fact.
According to the FBI, Sara Graham was last seen alive on Feb. 4, 2015. Police said she left the family home in Fairmont, North Carolina, around 6:30 a.m. in a white van to drive to her job at Walmart. She never made it to work, and the van was found abandoned in a field.
Local ABC affiliate WPDE reported that Connie Graham, who is married to Sara Graham's father, was employed as a deputy with the Robeson County Sheriff's Office at the time. She was fired after her stepdaughter went missing. Sara Graham's father, Hubert Graham, is also a former deputy and is currently the chief of the Rowland Police Department.
In North Carolina, a person can be declared legally dead if they have not been heard from for seven years. Hubert Graham told WPDE, days after his daughter was declared dead at the request of her biological mother, that he believed she was still alive.
The Robeson County Sheriff's Office said in its announcement that officials were not releasing further information about what led to the three arrests. The warrant for McLellan's arrest stated that he allegedly helped to dispose of human remains. The warrant for Locklear's arrest stated that he allegedly "assist[ed] in burning evidence."
Connie Graham appeared in court on Thursday and is being held in the Robeson County Detention Center without bond. McLellan and Locklear are being held on $1 million bond. All three defendants are scheduled to appear in court again on July 2.
The FBI is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the location of Sara Graham's body.