A 15-year-old is facing a felony murder charge after authorities said he shot his aunt in the head and left her body in a shallow grave outside her home.
The felony charge means that Dante Aiden Krieger will be tried as an adult in connection with the death of Tryeflue Lerra O’Neal, 42.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Krieger is O’Neal’s nephew. The teen was in the care of a foster family in Newton County at the time of the slaying, officials said.
Monroe County authorities said Krieger shot O’Neal on July 14 and buried her body at her home on Tingle Road in Jackson. He then drove to South Carolina, where he called the Chester County Sheriff’s Office and turned himself in.
The Chester County sheriff reached out to the Monroe sheriff requesting a wellness check at O’Neal’s home based on the information the teen gave while in custody. When deputies arrived, they found O’Neal in a shallow grave, officials said. Her body was taken to the GBI Crime Lab for an autopsy.
Krieger was extradited to Georgia on Thursday, officials said. He was denied bond in his first appearance the following day, Monroe authorities confirmed.
He is being held in the Regional Youth Detention Center in Macon.
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