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WARNING: This article contains graphic details some readers may find distressing
A man has been arrested over the murder of a British woman who reportedly traveled to the U.S. to be killed.
Sonia Exelby, from Portsmouth, England, was found dead in Marion Oaks on October 17, days after she was due to return from Florida to the U.K.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) received a missing persons report from authorities in England through Interpol when Exelby failed to board a flight on October 13.
- Sonia Exelby, a British woman, was found dead in Florida after traveling there to be killed, as she had written on her computer.
- Dwain Hall, 53, was arrested for first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection to Exelby's death.
- Exelby expressed suicidal thoughts and a desire to be sexually abused, tortured, and possibly murdered in notes and messages.
- Hall was linked to the crime scene by DNA evidence on a shovel and knife connected to Exelby’s murder.
Dwain Hall has been arrested for the death of Sonia Exelby
Image credits: Marion County Jail
Exelby’s boyfriend also appealed for information on social media, writing, “We believe she has arranged to meet someone there and has got herself into an extremely vulnerable situation. That’s all I can really say on that.”
Investigators ruled her death a homicide and arrested Dwain Hall, 53, of Ocala, on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping on Monday, November 17.
It is understood the pair first met on a fetish website around two years ago.
Hall was already behind bars facing charges of fraudulent use of Exelby’s credit cards and unlawful use of a two-way communication device when he was arrested.
According to an affidavit obtained by People, Exelby wrote on her computer that she was “suicidal and traveling to the United States to be sexually abused, tortured, and possibly murdered.”
Image credits: Facebook
Investigators in the U.K. also uncovered a note written by Exelby in which she appeared to contemplate her own death, as per the affidavit.
In the letter, she suggested she could end up “mutilated and disabled for the rest of my life” if she “manage[d] to get to him,” according to the document.
Investigators later focused on Hall after tracking activity linked to an online account that allegedly made repeated attempts to move funds out of Exelby’s bank account.
Hall agreed to speak with officers on October 17, but, according to the affidavit, offered inconsistent explanations about how he knew Exelby.
He, at first, insisted they were strangers, before conceding they had sex on several occasions and had spoken about “bondage, suicide, and her desire to have someone kill her.”
The affidavit also records Hall allegedly telling investigators that, if he were to assist her, he would have taken Exelby to Alligator Alley, where local wildlife “would have taken care of her.”
Exelby reportedly left notes saying she was suicidal
Image credits: Facebook
When asked directly whether he had killed her, Hall declined to respond, instead saying, “She’s happy now because she got what she wanted.”
In the affidavit, investigators said that Exelby appeared to have expressed regret over her decision to travel to the U.S. and messaged a friend on the platform Discord.
“He made it clear there was no way out unless I shoot him. I was questioning it last night… I thought he’d do it quick and not give my mind time to stew,” the message reportedly read.
Officials said the message “showed that Hall was controlling her, that she was afraid, and had made a mistake.”
Police also reviewed a deleted video that had been recorded on a mobile phone, the affidavit noted, in which Exelby was said to be “hesitant” and “visibly upset” as Hall asked for permission to hurt her.
Image credits: Facebook
Investigators observed Exelby to be covered in bruises and disheveled in the footage.
Hall was linked to the scene through the label on a shovel in Exelby’s grave, with police alleging he purchased it the day prior to picking Exelby up from the airport.
That shovel was later found in Hall’s garage with Exelby’s DNA on it, and a knife with her DNA was also traced to a man’s home, whom Hall had allegedly sent it to.
An autopsy found that Exelby’s cause of death was four stab wounds.
Hall remains at the Marion County Jail without bond and has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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