Suspect in murders of Sumter five-year-old and her mother appears in court

The court found "probable cause" in all five of the charges Daunte Johnson faces

SUMTER, S.C. (WOLO) —Daunte Johnson, the suspect in the murders of a Sumter five-year-old and her mother, made an appearance in a Sumter County court Thursday morning.

For the second time in eight weeks, Johnson faced the family of Nevaeh Adams, 5, and Sharee Bradley, 29. Bradley was found dead in her Sumter apartment on August 5, while the body of Adams has not been found.

A Sumter County judge found “probable cause” in all five of the charges Johnson faces. Johnson was charged with two counts of murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, as well as possession of a stolen vehicle.

Authorities say Johnson confessed to them on multiple occasions that he killed Bradley and Adams. Johnson’s public defender is still going to fight for his client.

“I think what’s important to emphasize is that my client is innocent until this process is completed,” said Timothy Murphy, the Chief Public Defender for Sumter County.

Several family members were in the courtroom today, and some say it hasn’t gotten any easier to face the man who has caused their family so much pain.

“When I saw the defendant today, I just looked at him. It makes me a little nervous. I was a little nervous today, but it’s never easy. It’s never going to be easy,” said Dupray Adams, Nevaeh’s biological father.

Family members looked on as an officer from the Sumter Police Department recounted details from the night of the murders.

He revealed that a drop of Nevaeh’s blood was found outside the apartment, and that the DNA of Sharee Bradley, not her five-year-old daughter, was found on the alleged murder weapon. 

Arrest warrants released last week revealed Johnson used a “large, folding knife” to commit the murders on August 5. Blood evidence collected and analyzed by the State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) found blood evidence from Adams and Bradley in the apartment.

Elijah Nelson, Bradley’s step-father and Adams’s grandfather, had to be escorted out the courtroom after he was feeling short of breath. 

“I just felt myself getting short of air, and I felt myself getting angry. I felt myself just blowing up,” Nelson said.

Even with the revelations today in court, the family is holding out hope that Nevaeh is alive.

“That’s what I believe with all my heart. I don’t believe Nevaeh is dead,” Nelson said.

“We won’t stop until we got something. You know whether she’s gone or if she’s alive. We will not stop until something is presented before me,” Adams’s father said.

Johnson is still in custody at the Sumter Lee Regional Detention Center. A date for his trial has yet to be set.