Florida Man Charged With Murder After Woman From UK Paid Him to Kill Her

A 54-year-old Ocala resident has been arrested and charged with premeditated first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the death of Sonia Exelby, a 20-something woman from Portsmouth, England, who disappeared during an October 2025 trip to Florida. Exelby’s family reported her missing after she failed to return home from the United States, sparking an investigation that would uncover a disturbing online arrangement between the two.

Court records reveal that Dwain Hall and Exelby met in 2023 on a “fetish website” where they discussed bondage, suicide, and her stated desire to be killed. Hall, who identifies as a sadist, allegedly engaged in a two-year online messaging campaign in which he described “mentoring” Exelby. The pair allegedly agreed that Exelby would pay Hall $4,000 in cash to help settle his IRS debt in exchange for carrying out her wishes, with both concocting a cover story to deceive their families and law enforcement.

Prior to her fatal trip, British authorities had thwarted a 2024 attempt by Exelby to travel internationally to meet individuals willing to kill her violently. Investigators noted she had documented mental health diagnoses. Computer evidence showed Exelby left behind records indicating she was suicidal and traveling to the United States to be “possibly sexually abused, tortured, and murdered by unknown individuals.”

Exelby flew into Gainesville Regional Airport on the evening of October 10, 2025, with a return flight scheduled for October 13. Hall allegedly picked her up and drove her to an Airbnb he had arranged 40 miles south in Reddick. Before retrieving her, Hall purchased gun cleaner, 50 feet of rope, deodorant, parachute cord, and a shovel at a Gainesville Walmart, according to surveillance video and receipts reviewed by Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigators.

The day after arriving, Exelby sent distressed messages to a friend through Discord, claiming Hall had locked her in the rental and confiscated her phone due to trust issues. She expressed profound regret about the arrangement, writing that she feared Hall would not kill her quickly and that she was “so so scared,” “so broken and in so much pain.” She indicated the messages would likely be her last communication unless she took an unspecified action involving the person she was with.

On the same day Exelby sent those messages, Hall’s business account charged her debit card seven times in approximately ten minutes. When Exelby failed to board her scheduled return flight on October 13, her family reported her missing. Investigators traced charges to Hall’s roadside assistance business, leading them to identify and locate him.

On October 17, law enforcement discovered Exelby’s body buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area of Marion County. She had sustained four stab wounds to her torso. The shovel purchased at Walmart bore a label found in the uppermost layers of dirt covering the grave. That same day, deputies spotted Hall driving a black Jeep Cherokee on Interstate 75 in the Ocala area and pulled him over.

Before being arrested, Hall allegedly sent messages to a Facebook contact referencing a package containing “precious and valuable personal items” that he said he would need back in six months “if this storm passes over with no lingering fallout.” Investigators recovered the package from Hall’s acquaintance, finding a bracelet and a seven-inch steel knife engraved with “Dorkworf pointy end goes in the other guy,” reportedly a mockery of Hall’s online alias “Darkwolf.” DNA analysis of blood recovered from the knife matched Exelby.

Initially, Hall denied knowing Exelby to investigators. He later admitted to recording video of her but claimed he deleted it because she “was not behaving right.” Authorities recovered the deleted footage, a four-minute-and-16-second video recorded the same day Exelby messaged her friend, showing her bruised and visibly distressed in the Airbnb, hesitant and tearful as Hall questioned her about why she was there and how she wanted to die.

Hall eventually told investigators that Exelby failed to “do what she was supposed to do” because she did not bring cash as promised. He charged her debit card multiple times but obtained only $1,200 before the card was declined repeatedly. Hall is being held in Marion County Jail on six felony charges and faces potential capital punishment. His attorney has not commented on the case.