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Ocala Man Pleads Not Guilty in Killing of British Woman Sonia Exelby

Prosecutors say a multi-source evidentiary trail links him to the killing.

Overview

  • Dwain Hall, 53, was arrested on Nov. 17 and charged the next day with first-degree murder, kidnapping, credit card fraud and unlawful use of a communication device.
  • He entered a not-guilty plea on Nov. 18 and was ordered held without bond, leaving him jailed as the case moves toward further pretrial proceedings.
  • Investigators cite license-plate reads showing Hall picking up Exelby at Gainesville’s airport, purchases of rope and a shovel, and a shovel later found with DNA from both.
  • Detectives report video of Exelby with visible injuries, messages in which she expressed fear and pain, and a knife with her blood recovered from a mailed package in Ohio.
  • The investigation followed a UK missing-person alert through INTERPOL, and involved FDLE, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, with an autopsy finding four sharp-force wounds.