A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly beat and murdered a suicidal woman from the United Kingdom who visited him with the intent of being killed, according to reports.
Sonia Exelby, 32, was found dead in a shallow grave deep in the woods in Marion County, Fla. on Oct. 17 — one week after she arrived in the US, according to investigation reports obtained by WCJB.
Exelby missed her return flight to Portsmouth, England on Oct. 13, and UK authorities reported her disappearance to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement that same day.
Exelby’s disappearance was first reported by her longtime partner, Stevie, according to a post shared on his Instagram.
Stevie assured that Exelby was loved and alluded to her struggles with her mental health.
“We believe she has arranged to meet someone there and has got herself into an extremely vulnerable situation. Thats all I can really say on that,” Stevie wrote.
“I need her back soo bad. Im lost without her and our cat Meryl just wants her mum back for the best cuddles,” he added.
UK officials echoed Stevie’s warnings and told Florida law enforcement that they believed Exelby traveled to Florida specifically to meet with people who would give her a violent death — which led local authorities to 53-year-old Dwain Hall.
Hall and Exelby met on a fetish website around two years ago. Hall primed himself as the struggling woman’s “mentor” and claimed he wanted to “help” Exelby, according to police reports obtained by WCJB.
He picked Exelby up at the Gainesville Regional Airport on Oct. 10 and took her to an Airbnb on Northwest 122nd Terrace in Reddick, Fla., according to the reports.
There, the pair hunkered down for an unspecified period of time. Hall allegedly had sex with Exelby multiple times and recorded a video that he said he later deleted, police said.
with her mental health. Instagram
Police were able to recover the video, which they said showed Exelby covered in bruises. When Hall asked her why she was there, Exelby said it was “because I’m an awful person,” according to the video.
“I’ve crushed everyone who ever loves me,” Exelby said.
Hall badgered Exelby to consent to be harmed, police said. Detectives who viewed the video described Exelby as being “hesitant” and “visibly upset,” even as she nodded affirmatively, the outlet reported.
On Oct. 11, just one day after landing in Florida, police said Exelby messaged a friend over Discord and explained that she was having doubts as Hall dragged out her pain.
“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,” Exelby wrote, as reported by the outlet.
Investigators asserted that Exelby’s plea “showed that Hall was controlling her, that she was afraid, and had made a mistake,” the outlet reported.
When authorities unearthed Exelby’s abandoned corpse, they found the label for a shovel that matched a brand Hall purchased shortly before going to the airport on Oct. 10, according to the reports. The same shovel was later found in Hall’s garage and still had traces of Exelby’s DNA on it, investigators said.
Before Hall was apprehended by authorities, he mailed a package to a friend in Ohio that contained a knife that tested positive for blood, investigators said.
An autopsy later determined that Exelby was fatally stabbed with a knife four times.
Hall was arrested on Oct. 18 on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, credit card fraud and unlawful use of a communication device, according to records from the Marion County Jail.
He is being held without bond and has court hearings scheduled for his two lesser charges on Nov. 18.
The Post reached out to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for more information.
If you are struggling with suicidal thoughts or are experiencing a mental health crisis and live in New York City, you can call 1-888-NYC-WELL for free and confidential crisis counseling. If you live outside the five boroughs, you can dial the 24/7 National Suicide Prevention hotline at 988 or go to SuicidePreventionLifeline.org.
