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‘This crazy lady from the UK was like…”I wanna be killed”‘: Unseen bodycam reveals moments after US cops found British woman who flew to America to be murdered by a man she met in a chatroom
Newly obtained bodycam footage shows a US police officer making light of the case of Sonia Exelby, a British woman found murdered after flying from Portsmouth to Florida to meet a man she had arranged online to torture and kill her. The officer, guarding the crime scene where Exelby's body was discovered, was recorded telling his mother about the "crazy freakin' lady" from the UK during a phone call while on duty, prompting criticism over the handling of a vulnerable victim's case.
Exelby, 32, was reported missing from her home in Southsea on 12 October last year before it emerged she had travelled around 4,000 miles to meet a man she had contacted through an online fetish chatroom, having reportedly paid him to end her life. Her body was found in a shallow grave in woodland near Ocala, Florida, on 17 October. Dwain Hall, 53, a father-of-two and roadside mechanic, has been charged with her murder and kidnapping, accused of sexually abusing and torturing her before killing her at an Airbnb; he is due to stand trial in November.
In short
- British woman Sonia Exelby, 32, murdered after flying to Florida via online chatroom contact
- Bodycam shows US officer flippantly describing her to his mother
- Suspect Dwain Hall, 53, charged with murder and kidnapping, trial set for November
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Sonia Exelby was a profoundly vulnerable woman whose mental health struggles made her prey to exploitation and murder. The officer's dismissive remarks—calling her a "crazy freakin' lady" whilst on duty at her crime scene—reveal an alarming lack of professional compassion towards a victim who desperately needed protection and respect. This casual mockery whilst investigating her death reflects a troubling disconnect between law enforcement's obligations to vulnerable people and the reality of how their suffering is treated.
The case against
Police officers confront traumatic scenes and psychological extremes as part of their work, and dark humour is a recognised coping mechanism for processing shock and bewilderment. In an extraordinarily unusual case where the victim herself orchestrated her own murder, an officer's remarks to his mother reflect genuine human confusion at a disturbing situation rather than investigative negligence or systematic disrespect. Evaluating policing solely through comments made during acute stress, rather than through the conduct of the actual investigation, risks mischaracterising how officers process individual moments of profound tragedy.
Explained simply
Sonia Exelby was a 32-year-old woman from Southsea, in Portsmouth. She travelled to Florida after making contact online with a man through a fetish chatroom; reports say she had arranged and paid for him to torture and kill her.
Her body was found in woodland near Ocala in October last year. Dwain Hall, a 53-year-old roadside mechanic, has been charged with her murder and kidnapping, and is due to stand trial in November. The case has drawn attention to how police treated a vulnerable victim and to the risks surrounding extreme arrangements made online.