{"id":580124,"date":"2025-11-19T09:25:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/580124\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T09:25:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T09:25:18","slug":"florida-man-accused-of-killing-suicidal-british-woman-who-flew-to-the-us-seeking-a-violent-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/580124\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida man accused of killing suicidal British woman who flew to the US seeking a violent death"},"content":{"rendered":"

By JENSEN BIRD<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 23:51 EST, 18 November 2025 | Updated: 04:15 EST, 19 November 2025 <\/p>\n

A Florida<\/a>\u00a0man has been accused of sexually abusing, torturing and murdering a suicidal woman who arrived from the United Kingdom seeking a violent death.<\/p>\n

Sonia Exelby, 32, was reported missing by loved ones in Portsmouth, UK, after she failed to board her return flight out of Gainesville Regional Airport on October 13.<\/p>\n

UK authorities contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement alleging that Exelby was suicidal and had plans to meet someone that would violently kill her, according to WCJB<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her body was found in a shallow grave days later.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Investigators were able to link Exelby to a Florida man named Dwain Hall using transactions made on her credit cards.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hall was arrested on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, credit card fraud, and unlawful use of a communication device on November 17.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police allege the 53-year-old had picked her up from the airport and taken her to an\u00a0Airbnb<\/a>\u00a0in Marion County.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Surveillance photos showed that Hall bought a gun cleaner, rope, and shovel shortly before Exelby’s death, according to Fox 35.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

\"United <\/p>\n

United Kingdom woman Sonia Exelby was reported missing in October after traveling to Florida<\/p>\n

\"Dwain <\/p>\n

Dwain Hall was found by police in conjunction with Hall’s death. Surveillance photos and credit card record showed he had picked her up from the airport<\/p>\n

Hall ultimately told investigators he met Exelby on a fetish website two years prior. He said Exelby told him she was suicidal and wanted to be killed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He claimed he wanted to help the woman but also admitted to having violent tendencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n

At the Airbnb, Hall claimed that they slept together multiple times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Authorities recovered a deleted video on Hall’s device which reportedly showed Exelby bruised and disheveled. Hall asked the woman why she was there.<\/p>\n

Investigators claimed Exelby responded, ‘Because I’m an awful person. I’ve crushed everyone who ever loves me.’<\/p>\n

Police said Hall continued try and get her consent to harm her. They described her as ‘hesitant’ although she nodded her head.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Police later found that Exelby messaged a friend on Discord second-guessing her decision.<\/p>\n

‘He made it clear there was no way out unless I shoot him,’ she allegedly wrote. ‘I was questioning it last night… I thought he\u2019d do it quick and not give my mind time to stew.’<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A body was discovered on October 17 and an autopsy confirmed that it was Exelby<\/p>\n

\"Exelby's <\/p>\n

Exelby’s boyfriend posted a desperate cry for help on social media after she disappeared<\/p>\n

Her boyfriend Stevie Hunt took to social media<\/a> and made a desperate plea for his lost love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘It pains me to write this, I never thought I’d be writing this. The love of my life Sonia Exelby is missing,’ he wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

‘She’s struggling deeply right now with her mental health and we are terrified for her safety.’<\/p>\n

Exelby’s body was found on October 17 in a shallow grave in Marion Oaks. An autopsy confirmed that she died as a result of four stab wounds.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next to the abandoned corpse was a label for a shovel that matched the one Hall had purchased earlier.<\/p>\n

Hall mailed a knife to a friend in Ohio shortly after Exelby’s death.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After searching the friend’s home, police confirmed that the weapon tested positive for blood and may contain Exelby’s DNA, per WCJB.\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Hall is being held in Marion County with no bond.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said of the arrest<\/a>:\u00a0‘Our agents worked with extraordinary speed and unwavering determination to ensure justice was served and closure was brought to the victim\u2019s family.<\/p>\n

‘This type of violent crime and disregard for human life will not be tolerated in our state \u2013 those who commit such heinous crimes will be held fully accountable.’<\/p>\n

The Daily Mail reached out to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Share or comment on this article:
\n Florida man accused of killing suicidal British woman who flew to the US seeking a violent death<\/p>\n