In the spring of 2021, 15-year-old Sanaa Amenhotep vanished from her apartment complex in Richland County, South Carolina, after being lured from her home on April 5 by people she believed were friends. A ninth-grade student at Richland Northeast High School, Sanaa was forced into a stolen vehicle, driven to a wooded area in Leesville, Lexington County, and subjected to a brutal beating before being shot multiple times.

Her phone was deactivated and discarded during the drive. Her body was buried in a shallow grave and remained undiscovered until April 28, 2021, while her family and community searched for her.Sanaa’s parents are Saleemah Graham-Fleming and Sharif Amenhotep.

Prosecutors say the killing was retaliatory: one of the suspects believed Sanaa’s boyfriend had been involved in a drive-by shooting at his house the night before, and Sanaa was targeted because of that belief.