RED SPRINGS, NC – A U.S. Army soldier has been charged with the murder of his pregnant girlfriend, whose body was discovered in a local pond months after she went missing. Private First Class Tyrique Zavier Leroy Williams, 26, was apprehended by authorities at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, where he was undergoing basic training with the 35th Engineer Battalion. Williams faces charges of first-degree murder and concealment of death in connection to the death of 24-year-old Annie Lock.
Lock was last seen on August 17 in Fayetteville, N.C., but her disappearance was not reported to the authorities until October 10. Her body was eventually located on Sunday in a remote pond near Red Springs, a small town situated approximately 115 miles southeast of Charlotte.
Fayetteville Police detailed in a press release that Lock’s family had tried to file a missing persons report sooner, but Williams had apparently assured them in August that he would handle it. He not only failed to file the report but shortly after his girlfriend went missing, he married another woman.
Lock’s sister, Tanya, revealed that in October, Williams admitted to not having filed the report when asked about any updates from detectives. Alarmed by his response, the family officially reported her missing soon after.
At the time of her disappearance, Lock was five weeks pregnant. Her family says they last interacted with Williams, who claimed she was not at their shared apartment when police checked in.
On the day her body was discovered, officers from the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office were called to the pond in Red Springs—approximately 30 miles from where she was last seen. The condition of Lock’s body made the identification challenging.
Williams’ arrest marks the culmination of an intense investigation that has taken an emotional toll on Lock’s family. Tanya Whitehead, Lock’s mother, expressed her heartbreak, stating that she received the devastating news of her daughter’s death on her own birthday.
Authorities have not yet disclosed how Lock died or what may have motivated the alleged murder. However, neighbors have indicated that the couple had a tumultuous relationship marked by frequent altercations.
Williams is currently held in the Pulaski County Jail as he awaits extradition to North Carolina to face charges. Despite the arrest, the case continues to raise questions, leaving Lock’s family to mourn her loss and grapple with the unanswered mysteries surrounding her untimely death.