A woman from the United Kingdom who traveled to Florida earlier this month was found dead in Marion County, and investigators say the man she met there is responsible for her killing.
According to investigation reports obtained by TV20, 32-year-old Sonia Exelby of Portsmouth, England, arrived at Gainesville Regional Airport on Oct. 10 but never boarded her return flight three days later. British authorities reported her missing through INTERPOL, explaining she had known mental health struggles, was suicidal, and may have planned to meet individuals who would harm her.
Investigators traced Exelby’s credit card activity to 53-year-old Dwain Hall, learning he picked her up from the airport and took her to an Airbnb in Reddick. After giving detectives conflicting accounts, Hall eventually admitted that he first met Exelby two years earlier on a fetish website. He told investigators she had expressed suicidal intentions and that he viewed himself as a “mentor,” despite also acknowledging violent tendencies.
Hall admitted they had sex at the Airbnb and that he recorded a video he later deleted. Detectives recovered the video, which they say shows Exelby bruised and visibly upset as Hall questions her and seeks her consent to be harmed.
Authorities also uncovered a Discord message Exelby sent to a friend on Oct. 11, expressing regret and fear while staying with Hall. She wrote that Hall had made her feel there was “no way out.”
On Oct. 17, a body was discovered in a shallow grave in a wooded area of Marion County. Fingerprint records confirmed the remains were Exelby’s. A shovel label found in the grave matched a shovel purchased by Hall before meeting her, and the shovel recovered from his garage tested positive for her DNA. An autopsy determined she died from four stab wounds.
Investigators later found that Hall had mailed a package to a friend in Ohio. A search of the home uncovered a knife that tested positive for blood and was believed to be linked to the killing.
Hall was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, credit card fraud, and unlawful use of a communication device. Investigators say evidence shows he planned the killing and that Exelby’s messages indicated she was frightened and felt trapped.
