Sonia Exelby was struggling with mental health problems and suicidal thoughts when, authorities say, she traveled from the United Kingdom to the United States to meet someone she had encountered online—possibly intending to be “sexually abused, tortured, and murdered.”
Exelby’s family now believes the 32-year-old music tutor was groomed for years on a fetish website before traveling to America, where she was killed last year.
Dwain Hall, whom police say Exelby met through the site, has been charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. The 54-year-old has pleaded not guilty.
As Hall prepares to go on trial next month, Exelby’s relatives are campaigning for greater awareness of online communities where, they say, some users fantasize about becoming victims of violence.
“This is about mental health [but also] there are websites and a bigger movement,” her sister, Gemma Isaj, told The Times. “We had our experience with our sister [and] we don’t know how big it goes.”
Sonia Exelby Allegedly Traveled to Florida to Meet With Dwain Hall
In 2024, Exelby was communicating with people online, and investigators later determined she may have been suicidal and planning to travel to the United States “with the intention of meeting with online individuals who would be willing to kill her violently,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by Oxygen.
That attempt was stopped, and Exelby received treatment. But investigators said evidence later found on her computer indicated she was again suicidal and traveling to the United States to be “possibly sexually abused, tortured, and murdered by unknown individuals.”
According to court records, Exelby arrived at Gainesville Regional Airport on Oct. 10, 2025. Investigators say Hall met her there and drove her to an Airbnb she had rented in Reddick, Florida. His vehicle was recorded by a license plate reader at the airport, authorities said.
Authorities also said Hall purchased paracord, gun cleaner, 50 feet of rope and a shovel at a Gainesville Walmart less than an hour before collecting Exelby.
The following day, investigators believe Exelby tried to contact a friend through Discord. In a message cited in the affidavit, she wrote that she was being held by a known man who had “made it clear there was no way out unless I shoot him.”
“He’s in the shower but I’m locked in and there is no singal (sic) in the middle of nowhere,” she wrote in the fragmented message. “I thought he’d do it quick and not give my mind time to stew and realise this is the last thing I’ll ever day to anyone if I don’t take his offer of shooting him.”
She said she was “so scared,” “broken” and in “so much pain.”
Investigators also found a deleted video, nearly five minutes long, on Hall’s phone. It showed Exelby sitting inside the Airbnb and appearing “dishelved” as Hall allegedly questioned her about why she had come there. At one point, he asked: “This is how you wanted to die, right? You wanted to be beaten and made to suffer because you’re such a piece of s—t.”
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The affidavit states that Exelby appeared “subdued.” She rarely looked toward the camera, where Hall was believed to be standing, and became visibly distressed, with tears in her eyes. She also exhaled deeply, swallowed hard and hesitated repeatedly before answering his questions, investigators said.
Hall initially denied being at the Airbnb, but later acknowledged having sex with Exelby and communicating with her online about “bondage, suicide, and her desire to have someone kill her,” according to the affidavit.
Hall told investigators that he had been trying to support Exelby’s mental health by mentoring her and did not want her to harm herself. He also claimed that the last time he saw her, she was getting into a vehicle with another person.
Oxygen contacted Hall’s attorney for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
What Happened to Sonia Exelby?
Exelby’s body was found on Oct. 17 in a grave in a wooded area of Marion County, following a review of Hall’s cellphone records, according to the affidavit and a statement from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The medical examiner determined that she died in a homicide after finding four sharp-force injuries believed to have been inflicted with a knife, court records state.
“Our agents worked with extraordinary speed and unwavering determination to ensure justice was served and closure was brought to the victim’s family,” FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said at the time. “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.”
Sonia Exelby’s Family Remembers Her as “Beautiful Person”
Hall was arrested and is expected to stand trial in November. Exelby’s family told The Times they hope to raise enough money to attend the proceedings and support her. She had struggled with depression and body dysmorphia.
Her brother Barry Wilton told the outlet that Exelby had first gotten involved with the sites because she wanted to protect women and was hoping to gather evidence to “stop this from happening to others.”
Her brother Luke Wilton added that the family is now fighting to “get these sites removed,” saying, “We want the maximum sentence and full extent of justice.”
The family remembered Exelby as “a truly beautiful person, inside and out” with a gentle soul, in a statement released by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary earlier this year.
“Sonia was one of those rare people who made you feel completely safe to be yourself,” they wrote. “She never judged, never criticised—she simply accepted people as they were and loved them for it. That is something so many of us will carry with us forever.”
They added that she had been a wonderful sister, aunt and partner.
“We know that life wasn’t always easy for you, but your life was so much more than the struggles you faced,” they continued. “This is so important to us that the life you lived is what you are remembered for. You were deeply loved, and you will always be deeply loved.”
