Parents of U.K. woman allegedly slain by sadist speak out

The deceased and the accused met on a fetish website two years before her death

Published Jul 28, 2026  •  3 minute read

Photo by Dario Ayala /Montreal Gazette files

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According to the family of a British woman who allegedly paid a sadist to kill her in the U.S., her “life was so much more than the struggles” she faced.

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Sonia Exelby, 32, from Portsmouth, in Hampshire, England, was found stabbed to death and buried in the woods in Marion County, Fla., on Oct. 17, according to the U.S. Sun.

Dwain Hall, 54, is accused of murdering her after meeting Exelby on a fetish website two years earlier.

He has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping and murder and will stand trial in November.

The woman’s parents released an emotional tribute to their daughter, who they say was a “truly beautiful person, inside and out.”

“She had the gentlest soul — so gentle that she chose to become vegan, because she couldn’t bear the thought of any animal suffering just so she could eat. That was who she was: kind, compassionate, and full of quiet love. She was incredibly talented. Sonia could play the piano so effortlessly, and when she sang, she had the voice of an angel. Being around her felt special — she brought a calmness and warmth that made everything feel a little lighter.”

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Her parents said Exelby had an “especially close and special bond” with her sister Sara and was “surrounded by loved everyday”.

The tribute finished by saying in part: “We know that life wasn’t always easy for you, but your life was so much more than the struggles you faced.”

Accused killer says he was trying to help her not kill her

Hall, who was denied ball last November, insisted he was mentoring her to not let her kill herself.

However, police reports also had Hall admitting to having violent tendencies.

Hall initially claimed not to know the British woman before admitting he picked Exelby up from the airport on Oct. 10 and took her to an Airbnb in Reddick, Fla., where they had sex multiple times.

Police allegedly recovered a video on Hall’s phone after his arrest in which a bruised and scared Exelby was being filmed mere days before her life ended after she was stabbed four times.

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In alleged film clip, woman is asked how she wants to die before answering stabbed

Cop say in the clip, Exelby cried as her alleged killer asked how she wanted to die, hesitating before saying she wanted to be stabbed.

Her alleged killer replied: “This is how you wanted to die, right?”

It’s alleged that on the same day as the video was filmed, Exelby expressed doubts to a pal on Discord and said Hall had given her a instructions on how to use a gun.

“He made it clear there was no way out unless I shoot him. I was questioning it last night,” she wrote.

“I thought he’d do it quick and not give my mind time to stew and realize this is the last thing I’ll ever day (sic) to anyone if I don’t take his offer of shooting him. I’m so so scared I’m so broken and in so much pain all I can do is lay here and doing what gee [sic] wants makes him respect me enough not to do the things I really hate.”

Police allege that she also told her pal that Hall had made her film a trio of disclaimer videos and write a letter to her family because he thought it was “funny.”

Investigators claim the messages “showed that Hall was controlling her, that she was afraid, and had made a mistake.”

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