A man charged in the June 14 murder of a teenage girl in Statesboro will face Bulloch County Superior Court Judge Michael Muldrew Tuesday, July 7, for a preliminary and bond hearing.

William Marcus Wilson, 21, of Sharpsburg, is charged with felony murder and aggravated assault in connection with the shooting death of 17-year-old Haley Hutcheson of Bellville.

Wilson, accompanied by his attorney Francys Johnson, turned himself in to Statesboro police the following Wednesday, June 17. He is being held in the Bulloch County Jail without bond until the hearing Tuesday.

Hutcheson, a Claxton High School student, was shot as she traveled in a vehicle on Veteran’s Memorial Parkway near Brannen Street in Statesboro around 12:45 a.m. Sunday, June 14. The fatal shot came from another vehicle. 

Others in the truck with Hutcheson took her to East Georgia Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said.

In a press conference the day before Wilson turned himself in, Hutcheson’s family pleaded for her shooter to come forward. Johnson said Monday that Wilson had already been identified as a suspect and was planning his surrender when the press conference was held.

Statesboro police Capt. Jared Akins confirmed this but said the already-scheduled media event was still held to generate additional witness information, as Wilson had not yet been arrested.

Johnson said Wilson’s family plans on making public comments about the shooting, but he did not yet know when that will take place.

The preliminary hearing, where a case is presented and reviewed to determine whether it will be bound over for court, is slated for 9 a.m. July 7. It is not yet known whether it will be a live hearing with all parties in the courtroom, or if the case will be heard remotely due to COVID-19 precautions, according to Bulloch County Clerk of Courts Heather McNeal.

Herald reporter Holli Deal Saxon may be reached at (912) 489-9414.