18-year-old arrested in killing of Newark anti-violence activist’s daughter – NJ.com

Authorities in South Carolina said they have arrested an 18-year-old in the killing of a Newark peace activist’s teenage daughter who was reported missing in early April.

Lexington County sheriff department deputies arrested Treveon Nelson on Friday near Leesville, South Carolina and said he will be charged with murder. The department said Sanaa Amenhotep, 15, was shot to death.

A juvenile girl was also arrested in the ongoing investigation into Sanaa death, but Lexington County authorities did not release her name or charges. Richland County authorities in South Carolina previously said they arrested another minor, a 17-year-old male, on kidnapping charges.

Sanaa’s father, Sharif Amenhotep, worked with the Brick City Peace Collective and was also known as the “the soul” of the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition.

“Sharif is very upset, devastated and broken,” said LaKeesha Eure, the director for Newark’s new Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery, who was also serving as a spokeswoman for Sanaa’s dad. “He is surrounded by family and friends from several states.”

He remained in South Carolina as of Saturday and was attending a bail hearing, said Eure.

Sanaa was reported missing in Richland County on April 5 and her body was found in Lexington County on Thursday, authorities said. A spokesman for the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department told NJ Advance Media it has not yet determined a motive for her killing.

Authorities have said Sanaa likely left her Northeast Columbia home voluntarily before she was held against her will.

Sharif Amenhotep traveled to South Carolina to help in the search and he was joined by members of the Newark Anti-Violence Coalition. Her mother in South Carolina reported her missing when she didn’t return home.

“I know she was afraid and that’s what bothers me the most,” the mother, Saleemah Graham-Fleming, told WIS News. “…She got into your car, trusting you and your girlfriend and you guys had other plans for her that she was unaware of. And I know that it broke her heart.”

Newark Mayor Ras Baraka gave his condolences to Sharif Amenhotep when his daughter’s body was found.

“Mr. Amenhotep works tirelessly to increase justice and reduce violence in our neighborhoods through our Brick City Peace Collective, helping us to re-imagine public safety and prevent tragedies such as this from taking place in our very own community,” Baraka said in a statement. “No parent should ever have to bury their child. It is an inexplicable loss that defies imagination.”

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Rebecca Panico may be reached at rpanico@njadvancemedia.com.