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

A Florida man is awaiting trial on murder charges after allegedly carrying out a killing that court records say he was paid to commit.

Dwain Hall, 54, of Ocala, Florida, faces charges of premeditated first-degree murder and kidnapping in the death of Sonia Exelby, a young woman from Portsmouth, England, according to court records cited by Fox News. His trial is scheduled for November 5, 2026, in Marion County, Florida.

Exelby's family reported her missing in October 2025 after she failed to return home from a trip to the United States, according to Fox News. Investigators later found her body in a shallow grave in a wooded area near Ocala, with stab wounds.

How prosecutors say the plan came together

Court records reviewed by Fox News describe a relationship that began in 2023, when Hall and Exelby connected on a fetish website where they discussed bondage, suicide, and what investigators say was Exelby's stated desire to have someone kill her.

Hall, described in records as a self-described sadist, allegedly began what he called a process of "mentoring" Exelby over roughly two years of online messaging, according to the court documents.

In the year before her death, the two allegedly discussed a financial arrangement: Exelby would help pay off debt Hall owed the IRS in exchange for his help fulfilling what she wanted, according to records cited by Fox News. Investigators say the two agreed on a $4,000 cash payment and worked out a cover story to tell their families and, if necessary, law enforcement.

Exelby eventually booked a flight from England to rural North Florida to meet Hall in person, according to the records.

Signs she wanted to back out

Text messages to one of Exelby's friends, cited in court records, suggest she had second thoughts and tried to call off the arrangement before her death. Those messages did not stop what prosecutors allege happened next. Her body was found days later in the shallow grave.

This was reportedly not the first time Exelby had tried to arrange her own death. Fox News reported that authorities in the United Kingdom intervened in 2024 to stop an earlier attempt by Exelby to travel and meet "online individuals who would be willing to kill her violently." Court records also note she had documented mental health diagnoses.

What's proven, what isn't

Hall has been charged, not convicted. The premeditated first-degree murder and kidnapping counts against him are allegations that a Marion County jury will weigh starting in November. Nothing in the available court records or Fox News's reporting indicates a plea has been entered or that additional evidence beyond the cited messages and financial arrangement has been made public.

The case sits at an unusual intersection of criminal law and mental health. Exelby's documented history of suicidal ideation and at least one prior thwarted attempt to arrange her own death, both in the UK and reportedly through online contacts, raises questions about what safeguards exist on fetish websites and elsewhere to flag users expressing intent to harm themselves or seek out people willing to kill them. No source indicates any platform faced scrutiny or was named in connection with monitoring those conversations.

Whether Exelby's alleged consent or payment factors into Hall's defense is also unresolved. Florida law does not recognize a victim's consent as a legal defense to murder, but how that dynamic plays out at trial, particularly given the alleged financial arrangement and years of messaging described in court records, will likely be central to proceedings that begin in November.

What happens next

Hall's trial is set for November 5, 2026, in Marion County. Until then, he remains in custody awaiting proceedings, according to Fox News. No additional charges, co-defendants, or related investigations have been reported in connection with the case as of this writing.