Teen woman ‘executed and burnt in woods’ by ‘schoolmates’ over ‘hurtful feedback’
WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT: A mum who thought her daughter had run away faced the horror that the 14-year-old had been lured into the woods then shot and burnt by two teen boys, allegedly over a social media beef
Ashley Troy called police last Monday to report a runaway after spotting that her daughter and her scooter had gone. But 14-year-old Danika was already dead, allegedly executed by two of her classmates over a petty online spat.
“Unbeknownst to the mother, unfortunately, Danika was murdered the previous night,” Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told a press conference on Thursday in Florida. “This is where it gets really horrific, actually,” he warned.
Deputies found a charred body and evidence of a fire and “multiple live ammunition rounds” on Tuesday. They also discovered a shoe like the ones Danika’s mother said she was wearing, and what they believed to be her electric scooter.
Two Florida teens now face murder charges after allegedly luring the teen to a wood to “execute” her. Gabriel Williams, 16, and Kimahri Blevins, 14, allegedly shot Danika Jade Troy, 14, multiple times before dousing her body in gasoline and setting her alight.
“It’s bad enough you kill a 14-year-old – you’re 14, you’re 16 – shoot her multiple times. Then they set her on fire,” the sheriff said.
The remains were identified as Danika on Wednesday. Detectives identified Williams and Blevins as suspects. Williams allegedly stole his mother’s handgun and shot Danika several times.
Blevins’ mother told police that she caught her son “sneaking” back into the house at around 11pm on Sunday. He allegedly told her he’d been smoking but she noted she didn’t smell any smoke on him.
The police described the case as a “groundball”, where the evidence points clearly to the apparent perpetrators. But the cops remain baffled over the motive.
The sheriff said the alleged killers were “supposedly” friends from school with the victim. A witness told police that the boys planned to kill Danika after she insulted Williams and blocked Blevins on social media, according to arrest reports.
An unnamed witness said “the initial plan was to shoot Danika once” but Williams took it further. Blevin said he “had a falling out” and blocked Danika on social media. Williams told the cops that Danika made “hurtful comments” to him, calling him “worthless and a gang-banger.”
“The motive that they’re giving doesn’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case, so we don’t have a legit motive,” said the sheriff.
But he added: “The evidence pointed to them immediately. They took them into custody immediately, and unfortunately for the Troy family, they have to go through this.”
Both teens have been charged with first-degree premeditated murder and are being held without bond. Johnson said his team would work with the state attorney’s office to get the teens charged as adults.
“You do an adult crime, you do adult time,” the sheriff said.
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