LANCASTER COUNTY, S.C.,None — Hope Melton had no idea what was about to happen to her. In surveillance videos from a convenience store in the town of Jefferson, the woman can be seen smiling.
At the same gas station sat 23-year-old Nickolas Miller, the man charged with abducting, raping and killing Melton. Surveillance video shows Miller opening store's door for Melton, buying a beer and sitting in his car.
When Melton finished pumping her gas, Miller followed.
"She did not know him. There was never a conversation with him," said Melton's brother-in-law Juan Garces. "She had no indication she was in any danger."
Melton likely did not know she was in danger until she turned on to Angelus Road, heading to her grandmother's house. After several miles, she called her grandmother to tell her she saw a car following her.
"She was closest to her grandmother's house to let her know something was not right. And by the time they got to her, they found the car," Garces said.
Melton's car was stuck in a ditch, wheels spinning in reverse.
Investigators confirmed Wednesday that they believe Miller drove around Melton, cut her off and sent her into a ditch.
Deputies believe she got out and tried to run from Miller, but he caught up with her and abducted her.
Miller then raped and beat her to death with a baseball bat before leaving her body near a turkey barn in Kershaw County, investigators said.
"I am the only family member who witnessed the body and it is unreal," Garces said. "I really can't grasp it. Everything has stopped in our family lives."
Miller is currently in police custody in Kershaw County.
His bond has not been set because he could receive the death penalty for the charges he faces.
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