An Augusta woman who buried her mother in the backyard pleaded guilty Wednesday, Aug. 31, to concealing the death of another.
Melissa Lockhart, 44, was arrested on June 3, 2021, the day she called 911 because she was injured. It would turn out she had a broken knee.
The emergency medical technicians noticed that day what looked like a freshly dug grave in the backyard of Lockhart’s home on Tobacco Road. Sheriff deputies sent to the scene also thought the mound looked like a grave, said Assistant District Attorney William Hammond.
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Wednesday, Lockhart pleaded guilty in Richmond County Superior Court under an agreement any incarceration would be limited to a maximum of six years. She pleaded guilty to concealing the death of her mother, 67-year-old Miriam Lockhart, on June 3, 2021.
Hammond said Wednesday that Miriam Lockhart died because of an overdose of narcotic pain relief medication. The manner of death was listed as undetermined by the medical examiner. The woman’s body showed no sign of trauma, Hammond said.
There was information that Lockhart was physically and verbally abusive to her mother, and Adult Protective Services was called but nothing came of the report, Hammond said.
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Defense attorney Kara Stangl said Lockhart was very close to her mother, and when she died, Lockhart had an emotional breakdown. She knew her mother was very opposed to the idea of being autopsied, Stangl said. Her mother told Lockhart that she wished she could be buried under a tree in the backyard.
Lockhart had no prior felony conviction, although she does have an aggravated assault charge pending in Columbia County where she is accused hitting a man in the head with a baseball bat. An immunity motion has been filed in the case.
Judge Ashley Wright sentenced Lockhart to three years incarceration followed by seven years on probation.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
