Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
The man accused of murdering the British woman who travelled to the US in search of a 'violent death' was allegedly in a love triangle with her and his sickly wife.
Alarm bells were first raised about Sonia Exelby after she failed to board her flight home from Florida, just three days after she first arrived in the US on holiday.
Family members raised concerns about the 32-year-old's mental health struggles and on 13 October, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) received an alert from British authorities regarding a missing and vulnerable person.
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After Exelby's body was tragically discovered in a shallow grave, police were quick to arrest 53-year-old Dwain Hall, and he was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping in relation to Exelby's death.
It later emerged that the two had met on a 'fetish website' where Exelby expressed a desire to be abused and stabbed to death, which led to the two exchanging details on the private messaging app Discord.
Hall was accused of murdering Exelby inside an Airbnb cabin before dumping her body in a shallow grave, which was discovered by police on 17 October, just a few days after she was first thought to be in danger.
In another twist, it has now emerged that the two had engaged in a physical relationship before Exelby's tragic death, as Hall told police the two had sex in the rental home prior to her death.
Hall has since suggested that this was initiated by the Brit and he initially didn't want to engage in any sort of relations with her because he didn't want to feel bad for his wife Ginger Stein.
The documents suggested that Hall was legally single, but he referred to Stein as his wife throughout his interviews with detectives, with pictures often showing her with an oxygen tube.
Further evidence in the affidavit revealed some of the messages that were shared between Hall and Exelby on Discord, where they discussed bondage, suicide and Exelby's desire to have someone kill her.
However, text messages sent to a friend by the Portsmouth woman now express regret and fear for the situation she found herself in, as she suggested to a friend that her only way out was to shoot Hall.
They read: "I'm sorry he keeps taking my phone, he doesn't trust me with it. He made it clear there was no way out unless I shoot him.
"I was questioning it last night. I can't kill anyone.
"I thought he'd do it quick and not give my mind time to stew and realize [sic] this is the last thing I'll ever day [sic] to anyone if I don't take his offer of shooting him. He showed me how to use it and where to aim.
Her last message read: "I'm so scared I'm so broken and in so much pain all I can do is lay here and doing what gee [sic] wants."
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 to reach a 24-hour crisis center or you can webchat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
Topics: Crime, Mental Health, True Crime
James Moorhouse