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Judge Orders Florida Suspect Held Without Bond in Killing of U.K. Woman

Investigators say a trail of digital, financial, video, and DNA evidence links Dwain Hall to Sonia Exelby.

Overview

  • FDLE and Marion County detectives charged Dwain Hall, 53, with first-degree murder and kidnapping on Nov. 17, and a judge denied bond the next day.
  • Sonia Exelby, 32, of Portsmouth, England, was reported missing Oct. 13 and identified after her remains were found Oct. 17 in Marion Oaks; an autopsy found four stab wounds.
  • Records show about £905 (around $1,200) was paid from Exelby’s account to Solver Wolfs Roadside Assistance, a company tied to Hall, after multiple failed attempts.
  • Surveillance and receipts document Hall buying rope and a shovel before meeting Exelby, with investigators later finding a shovel bearing both their DNA and a knife with her blood recovered from a mailed package.
  • Police recovered video showing Exelby bruised and distressed and messages expressing fear and regret; UK authorities alerted FDLE via INTERPOL, and the Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney is prosecuting the case while Hall maintains a not-guilty plea.