Reported by: Oahimire Omone Precious | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
A British woman who flew from England to the United States allegedly paid a man she met online to torture and kill her, according to court documents in a murder case that is set to go to trial later this year. The victim, 32-year-old music tutor Sonia Exelby from Portsmouth, was found stabbed to death and buried in a shallow grave in Marion County, Florida, days after arriving in the U.S. to meet Dwain Hall, a 53-year-old former pizza delivery driver whom investigators say she contacted through a hardcore fetish website.
Hall, who used the online name "alphasadist" and worships Anubis, the Egyptian god of death, has been charged with kidnapping and first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty and, if convicted, could face the death penalty. The case has drawn widespread attention for its disturbing details, including allegations that Exelby, who had struggled with mental illness for years, agreed to pay Hall $4,000 (£3,000) in exchange for him helping her remove what he described as the "trappings of humanity" — a reference, according to investigators, to her wish to be abused and killed.
According to a Florida police report, evidence recovered during the investigation suggested Exelby had travelled to the United States intending to meet "online individuals who would be willing to kill her violently". Material found on her computer indicated she was travelling to be "possibly sexually abused, tortured and murdered by unknown individuals". Court documents also indicate she penned a suicide note voicing apprehension about what awaited her upon meeting Hall.
The two allegedly shared sexual and suicidal fantasies, with Hall presenting himself as her mentor and giving her daily routines to follow. According to her family, Exelby gradually became distant and pushed them away. In August 2024, Exelby used Telegram to arrange a trip to the United States to meet men who had allegedly agreed to fulfil her fantasy of being violently killed. Hampshire Police intervened after a friend alerted authorities, removing her phone and laptop. However, she later resumed plans to meet Hall in Florida.
On October 10, 2025, Exelby flew from Heathrow to Gainesville, Florida, booking a return flight for the following Monday afternoon. According to investigators, Hall picked her up from the airport and the pair travelled to an isolated cottage near Reddick in Marion County. Police allege Hall purchased a shovel, rope, gun cleaner, parachute cord and deodorant spray as Exelby travelled to the United States. Investigators also found that several attempts were made to use Exelby's bank cards before a payment of $1,200 (£900) was processed to Hall's roadside assistance business.
While at the cottage, Exelby allegedly sent a message through Discord to an online friend while Hall was in the shower. "I thought he'd do it quick and not give my mind time to stew," she wrote before ending the message with the words, "My time's up". In another message cited in the Marion County Sheriff's Office report, Exelby wrote that Hall had taken her phone and told her there was "no way out" unless she shot him. She also wrote that she was "so so scared" and apologised before ending with, "My times up".
Police also recovered a four-minute video allegedly recorded by Hall in which Exelby appeared bruised and withdrawn. According to investigators, Hall instructed her to state that she had travelled to die voluntarily. The video was later deleted but recovered by investigators. A post-mortem examination revealed she had sustained four stab wounds measuring between four and seven inches in depth, with her death classified as a homicide.
Prosecutors further allege that Hall siphoned funds from Exelby's U.K. bank account and coerced her into recording disclaimer videos and penning a letter to her loved ones. Investigators claim that following her death, he dispatched a package to an acquaintance in Ohio containing a seven-inch Tanto blade bearing her blood, while a shovel recovered from his garage tested positive for traces of her remains. The blade had a custom message engraved on it: "Dorkworfy point end goes into the other guy," an apparent reference to one of Hall's online usernames, "Darkwolf".
Hall was arrested on October 27, 2025, on credit card fraud charges related to the victim's bank account. Exelby's body was discovered in the shallow grave in Marion Oaks on October 17. Hall's trial is set to begin with jury selection on November 16, 2026, in Marion County. The case has left Exelby's family grappling with unanswered questions about how the sweet-natured music tutor, known to them as "Lamby" because of her gentle nature, could have ended up in such a horrific situation. They have released a tribute to a "truly beautiful person, inside and out" who "was softly spoken and always gave the best of herself".
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