Dwain Hall is a Florida man who is accused of murdering a U.K. tourist, Sonia Exelby.
According to WCJB, the case took a bizarre turn when the investigators' reports revealed that police believe Exelby allegedly traveled to the U.S. because she wanted someone to kill her "violently."
She landed at Gainesville Regional Airport in Florida in October and then disappeared, the television station reported. Officials in the U.K. told Florida investigators that Exelby "had mental health diagnoses and was suicidal. They believed she planned to travel to Florida to meet with people who would kill her violently," according to WCJB, which added that police believe she was stabbed four times with a knife at an Airbnb.
According to the television station, police say they obtained a video that shows Exelby with bruises and Hall asking if she wanted to be harmed, at which point she "nods affirmatively" but seemed hesitant and "visibly upset." She subsequently sent a message to a friend expressing regret and adding, "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," WCJB reported.
WFTV reported that Hall claimed Exelby "asked to be tortured and murdered."
Hall allegedly told authorities that he met Exelby on a fetish website, and she "wanted to be killed," the television station reported.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced on November 17 that the agency had "arrested Dwain Hall, 53, of Ocala, on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the homicide of a missing woman from the United Kingdom," a news release says.
"The arrest follows a swift and intensive investigation that led to the discovery of her remains in Marion County less than one week after she was reported missing," it adds.
On Monday, October 13, FDLE "received a request for investigative assistance from U.K. authorities through INTERPOL regarding a missing and endangered woman from England," the release adds.
"FDLE’s investigation found that the woman missed her scheduled flight back to England on the afternoon of Oct. 13. Within days, agents from FDLE’s Jacksonville Regional Operations Center and Marion County Sheriff’s Office located human remains in Marion Oaks on Friday, Oct. 17," it says.
"The remains were determined to be those of the missing woman from England and further examination revealed that her death was ruled a homicide."
On Monday, November 17, FDLE agents and detectives with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office "arrested Hall for first-degree murder and kidnapping. Hall was already incarcerated on prior charges of fraudulent use of credit cards and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. The charges were tied to fraudulent use of the victim’s credit cards," added the release.
“Our agents worked with extraordinary speed and unwavering determination to ensure justice was served and closure was brought to the victim’s family,” said FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass in the release. “This type of violent crime and disregard for human life will not be tolerated in our state – those who commit such heinous crimes will be held fully accountable.”
Help is available by texting or calling 988 through the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.