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Background: News footage of the scene in Pace, Fla., where Danika Troy”s body was found (WEAR). Insets (left to right): Gabriel Williams, Kimahri Blevins, and Danika Troy (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office).
In a tragic incident in Florida, two teenagers are facing murder charges after allegedly luring a 14-year-old girl into the woods, where they fatally shot her and then set her body ablaze.
Authorities arrested Gabriel Williams, 16, and Kimahri Blevins, 14, on Wednesday. They have been charged with first-degree premeditated murder following the discovery of Danika Troy’s burned body in a forested area in Pace, Florida. According to arrest documents cited by Law&Crime, a witness revealed that Blevins and Williams plotted the murder in retaliation for Troy’s social media insult to Williams and her decision to block Blevins.
The alleged conflict occurred during the teenagers’ Thanksgiving break.
The Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office reported that Troy was initially declared missing by her mother on Monday. Her mother mentioned that she last saw Danika on Sunday night around 10 p.m. and later noticed her electric scooter was gone the following morning.
On Tuesday, someone passing by the area discovered a deceased body in the woods. Upon investigating the scene, police found remnants of a fire, several live ammunition rounds, and a severely burned body. Additionally, a shoe matching the description provided by Troy’s mother, as part of her last outfit, was located at the site.
Police also found what they believed was Troy’s electronic scooter. On Wednesday, investigators identified the remains as Troy’s. During the police investigation, an unnamed witness reported that Blevins allegedly said that he and Williams “planned the murder of Danika.” Blevins allegedly told the witness that “the initial plan was to shoot Danika once,” but that Williams allegedly took things further. Both boys burned Troy’s body after shooting her dead, police said.
After speaking to the witness, detectives went to Blevins’ home, where his mother allowed them to talk with her teenage son. Detectives sat Blevins in the back of their unmarked car, where they read him his Miranda rights, and he told them that the last time he had any contact with Troy was during their Thanksgiving weekend break. Blevins allegedly said that he and Troy “had a falling out and he blocked her on social media.” When detectives asked about what happened in the woods, Blevins requested an attorney.
When detectives spoke to Blevins’ mother, she told them that she caught her son “sneaking” back into the house at around 11 p.m. on Sunday. When she asked her son what he was doing, he allegedly told her he was smoking a cigarette, but she did not smell any smoke on him.
Police arrested Blevins and went to question Williams. At the police station, Williams told detectives that Troy made “hurtful comments” to him, calling him “worthless and a gang-banger.” Williams was also placed under arrest.
During a press conference, Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson said, “The motive that we’re getting doesn’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case.” Johnson also stated during the press conference that Williams “stole his mother’s handgun and shot Danika Troy.” He described the relationship between the three teenagers as “friends, supposedly.”
Both boys were charged with first-degree premeditated murder. They are being held at the Santa Rosa Juvenile Detention Center without bond.