The Misery Machine - The Case of Sonia Exelby

Starting point is 00:00:03 Sonia Exelby was born on July 22nd, 1993, and at the time of our story, lived in Portsmouth, England, with her partner of 15 years, Stevie Hunt. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th, the powerful vocals of Demi Lovato on May 17th, and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter. You survived the Miami weekend, nailed the speech, and maxed out your credit card in the name of friendship. Now you've got one hangover, four pastel dresses, and zero reasons to wear them again.

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Starting point is 00:03:03 According to a post made by Stevie, she also struggled with disordered eating in the past. But as depressed as she may have been, Sonia was also incredibly lively in her own way. One of her brightest parts of her life was her cat, Merrill, who stayed by her side for more than a decade. Sonia loved posting about Merrill. You can see her bright smile in these posts and her overjoyed moments with her cat. Maybe because of this deep love and affection, Merrill had developed a whole personality of her own, literally. In one post, she wrote, I come home and find the TV on, the remote in the cat's bed,

Starting point is 00:03:38 and Merrill laid on it. She was watching Father Ted. I 100% turned the TV off before I left. Another time, she wrote, there was no snooze button on a cat who wants breakfast. Aside from her lively little cat, Sonia also kept a SpongeBob-themed fish tank. Inside it, there were a few goldfish,

Starting point is 00:03:57 a pleco, and a beautiful blue crayfish, and even a few freshwater shrimp. She even had names for them. Stelios for the crayfish, Bernard for the Pleco, father Jack Hackett for the shrimp and two goldfish named Wayne and Garth. Sadly, Wayne didn't make it, and according to Sonia, died from some troublesome snails. And even for Wayne, Sonia posted her condolences with the same warmth that she had for every living

Starting point is 00:04:22 creature. RIP, Wayne, I hope you are partying on. You had a short but good life. I shall avenge you. Pets at home, shame on you. Sonia also had a deep and genuine interest in music and only. an epiphone J200. She used the same guitar for auditions in 2014 and even before that she'd been performing at open mics. Sonia also enjoyed hip-hop shown through her posts on social media,

Starting point is 00:04:47 being excited for the M&M concert held on July 11th, 2014 at Wembley Stadium in London. She posted about it again and again, counting down the days up to when she finally reached her seat. Sonia also played a lot of Xbox and PlayStation 4 with some of her favorites being PT and Metal Gear Solid 5. The Cat Meryl was also named after a character from the Metal Gear franchise. Sonia liked to customize her PlayStation controller with removable tattoos and a thin coat of clear varnish. Sonia genuinely seemed excited about her university years as well, especially the time she climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and went skydiving. Those experiences meant a lot to her, but somewhere along the way,

Starting point is 00:05:26 something must have hit her hard. The same Sonia, who frequently posted on Facebook about her interests, her little joys and her Cat Meryl suddenly went quiet. Years went by with barely any posts whatsoever. In July of 2024, it seemed like the old lively Sonia might finally be making her way back with her passion for music now stronger than ever. She announced on Facebook how she needed help with production and was looking for one tech wizard and a pianist slash guitarist who can help record, master, and accompany the exotic pieces I've learned, along with some thick, juicy harmonies I've written to go with them.

Starting point is 00:06:02 Any good song needs equally good harmonies, after all. Her vision for her music career was surprisingly diverse and included genres like jazz, modern country, metal, rock, and folk pop. She listed artists in bands like Marjorie Hughes, The Seekers, the Zach Brown band, and Avenge Sevenfold. In the same post, she also mentioned that she came from a musical family, which is why she had such an eclectic taste in music. On the surface, it looked like Sonia was finally saying goodbye to her mental health struggles.

Starting point is 00:06:31 But in reality, she was sinking even deeper into them. By 2024, it was already known among the people close to her that she was severely depressed, actively wanting to remove herself from this earth. It was seeking help with other people to make it happen. She found these people on television. Introducing Taco Bell's new jalapino citrus salsa with bright citrus, real red jalapinos, guahillo chilis. Usually, you add sauce to the food, but when the sauce is this good,

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Starting point is 00:07:59 Sonia received treatment that year. But even after that first incident, Sonia planned to do the exact same thing all over again. Only this time, it was in complete secrecy. This only came to light later when authorities retrieved and examined her computer. The evidence showed that Sonia had been planning to travel to the United States again, with the intention of being essayed, tortured, and murdered by an unknown individual living there. On October 10, 2025, Sonia flew to the United States.

Starting point is 00:08:29 States. That evening, she landed at the Gainesville Regional Airport in Gainesville, Florida. And while she had gone there with a clear mission, she still had a return flight booked for the evening of October 13th. That alone says so much. Perhaps with just a little guidance, a little compassion, maybe even a small amount of intervention from the right person, Sonia could have backed out and returned safely. The man she intended to meet that day was not that kind at all. That same day, Sonia had booked and paid for an Airbnb located at 16293 Northwest 122nd Terrace in Reddick, Florida, with a reservation for three days. On October 11th, there were seven attempted charges made on her card in roughly 10 minutes. Every single one of those transactions was declined, except for a $1,200 payment to Solver Wolfe's roadside assistance.

Starting point is 00:09:26 It was later confirmed that 53-year-old Duane Hall was the same. sole employee of this so-called roadside recovery business. This is Dwayne right here, ranting in his car about AI scam calls. Where is Daredevil? Am I here? Don't miss the return of Marvel

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Starting point is 00:10:35 regardless of the strategy used. Has performance does not guarantee future results. Okay, so real quick, like, first instance of personal family being affected by AI scam calls. They called my mom early this morning. She was so upset. She could hardly talk to me when she got hold of me on the phone. They said I was in an accident or something. People be aware. When Sonia failed to board her return flight home, it immediately raised red flags. Her partner, Stevie, made the following post to Facebook on October 16th, which read in part, My whole world is still missing. Sonia XLB has been missing since Friday.

Starting point is 00:11:13 Sonia is such a vulnerable person and really struggling with her mental health. We believe she got on a plane on Friday and made her way to Florida, Tallahassee, from the UK. We believe she has arranged to meet someone there and has got herself into an extremely vulnerable situation. That's all I can really say on that. I just want and need her back so bad. Any share would just be amazing, especially if you live in the U.S. the police, foreign office, and U.S. law are doing everything they can.

Starting point is 00:11:40 I understand my appeal is a shot in the dark. Any info please reach out to the police or DM me. Sonia, I love you so much. Me and Merrill just want you back home safe. The U.K. authorities contacted the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to file a missing person's report. Up until that point, the only real lead investigators had

Starting point is 00:11:58 was the series of attempted transactions made through Sonia's debit card to a small private business owned by Dwayne Hall. Dwayne was first contacted on October 13th by phone, but he flat out denied ever-knowing Sonia. The next day, detectives called again and arranged an in-person meeting to question him about the charges. Dwayne claimed he had briefly interacted with an unknown woman who needed his roadside assistance services. According to him, because it was a holiday, she had offered to pay a large sum of money for him to come out and help her. But since her card kept getting declined, he said he never went. He also insisted that none of the charges went through, including the $1,200 transaction that investigators already knew had been successfully processed. When asked directly

Starting point is 00:12:38 about Sonia, Dwayne repeated that he had never met her and didn't know who she was, but his cover story was full of holes. He couldn't provide any details about the supposed woman's car, her location, or the nature of her breakdown. He had no call logs showing that anyone had contacted him for roadside help. What Dwayne didn't know was that investigators had already, pulled data from Telek, the point-of-sales system that he used for his business. And according to those official reports, the $1,200 payment landed in Dwayne's merchant services accounts charged from one of Sonia's credit cards. Dwayne's business had mixed reviews on Yelp, with a customer claiming that Dwayne made her

Starting point is 00:13:14 feel really unsafe. The review reads, this guy was so rude for absolutely no reason. I told my warranty company not to send him to me again. He seems like someone who can become irate and aggressive easily. He spoke aggressively over everything, including the same. a single text that I sent inquiring about the timing of the service. As someone who has worked in mental health for several years and has a history of DV victimization, I was not comfortable being around the sky at all. Moreover, one of Sonia's friends on Discord reported to authorities

Starting point is 00:13:42 that while Sonia was in Florida, she had messaged them, clearly terrified and asking for help. Her message is reading part, 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 this is the last thing I'll ever say to anyone if I don't take his offer of shooting him. He showed me about to use it and where to aim it. I'm so, so scared. I'm so broken and so much pain. All I can do is lay here and do what he wants, makes him respect me enough not to do the things I really hate. Everything but some are. I'm sorry. I don't even know what I'm saying and I'm trying to be

Starting point is 00:14:24 quick in my time's up. Sonia said that her last night was so bad, adding that Dwayne was in the shower, but she was locked in with no signal in the middle of nowhere. Sonia never actually named the person who was threatening her, but she did tell her friend that the man later confirmed to be Dwayne made her film three bizarre disclaimer videos and write a letter to her family, simply because he thought it would be funny. As alarming as that was, Florida authorities still needed solid evidence before they could act. They contacted the owner of the Airbnb where Sonia had been staying.

Starting point is 00:14:57 A neighbor living close by reported seeing a black SUV there on October 11th, a vehicle with a huge emergency roadside sticker slapped across the back window. That SUV ended up being Dwayne's. On October 15th, investigators searched the Airbnb with the owner's permission. Thankfully, it hadn't been cleaned since Sonia left. Every piece of evidence linking Dwayne to her disappearance was still inside, intact, obvious, and almost waiting to be found. Several receipts located in the trash show that on October 10th at around 547 p.m., Duane purchased a paracord, gun cleaner, 50 feet of rope, and Lumet deodorant spray from a Walmart in Gainesville.

Starting point is 00:15:40 At 5.54 p.m. that same day, he made another purchase at the same Walmart, a shovel using the same bank card. Surveillance footage confirmed that Dwayne personally picked up every item. Right after leaving, Dwayne drove to the Gainesville Regional Airport to pick up. Sonia. A license plate reader at the airport captured his vehicle around the same time Sonia's flight landed. From there, the two headed straight to the Airbnb and Reddict book under her name. Investigators also found a discarded Dunkin' Donuts cup inside the property. The label and surveillance footage traced it back to the Dunkin' Donuts located at 3411 Southwest Archer Road in Gainesville. Other similar items at the Airbnb made it painfully obvious that Duane had been

Starting point is 00:16:24 there with Sonia. On October 17th, authorities obtained a search warrant for Dwayne's home and phone. That same day, Dwayne agreed to speak with investigators. Special agent Rebecca McKinsey and Marion County Sheriff's detective Joseph Miller interviewed Dwayne that day. And once again, he tried to feed them a completely made-up story. He repeated that same lie that he never met Sonia and didn't know her at all. When the detectives pressed him about the phone call he previously claimed was from a woman, Dwayne suddenly switched it up.

Starting point is 00:16:56 He now insisted the call was actually from a high-profile client who went by the name Harold. He added that he didn't think Harold was his real name, but described him as a Middle Eastern man with white teeth and a big smile. Dwayne claimed Harold offered him a huge payout, which he eventually narrowed down to $1,200 and even made him sign an NDA. Or in him, Harold also arranged for him to stay at a house on 122nd, which is the same Airbnb Sonia stayed at. However, Dwayne asserted that he had the impression that Harold owned this house.

Starting point is 00:17:28 According to Dwayne, Harold let him stay at the Airbnb for the weekend. During that time, he claimed he was picked up by unknown individuals in random cars and driven to a large barn located about 10 to 15 minutes away. Harold supposedly kept several vehicles there, and Dwayne said he worked on them. He repeated that he wasn't allowed to bring his phone to the barn and that when he secretly brought it in on the second day, there was barely any signal. Dwayne further alleged that when he left the Airbnb on October 12th, a silver or gray car with black windows followed him. He said he pulled off into the wooded area just south of Southwest Highway 484 and east of Marion Oaks Boulevard to maintain cover, whatever that means.

Starting point is 00:18:07 According to him, he waited there for an hour until the vehicle drove away, and only then did he continue home to Marion Oaks. But once again, Dwayne's story was full of holes. It sounded less like a real account of what happened and more like something really, straight out of a low-budget thriller film. So the detectives pushed him and told him the Airbnb he insisted belong to Harold was in reality rented under Sonia's name. Dwayne's story change once again at this point. Now claim that on October 10th he received several calls,

Starting point is 00:18:36 one of them from Harold, ordering him to pick up Sonia from the airport. When Special Agent McKinsey showed him a photograph of Sonia, Dwayne identified her as the woman he had picked up. Even after identifying Sonia in the photo, Dwayne stuck to his claim that he did not know who she was. He insisted that during the drive, he tried making small talk, but Sonia allegedly told him to stay quiet because she doesn't talk to the help. Dwayne said that he then dropped her off at the Airbnb, where, according to him,

Starting point is 00:19:04 Sonia walked up to another man, hugged him, and left with him. He claimed he never saw her again after that. Then, on October 11th, Dwayne alleged that there was an argument at the barn. Harold's driver supposedly approached him afterwards and told him, his services were no longer needed. Dwayne said he was then dropped back at the Airbnb where he spent the night before heading home the next day. When investigators suppressed him for call logs or tax...

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Starting point is 00:21:11 And although he said he had the Life 360 app installed, which is an app that tracks movement, he insisted that it wouldn't have showed any record of him going there either, perhaps because the barn was total fiction. Once again, Dwayne flipped his story. This time he claimed that while Sonia had been at the Airbnb, he himself was never there at the same time and that their stays somehow never overlapped. But when investigators told him outright that they knew Sonia stayed there

Starting point is 00:21:38 and that evidence proved it, Dwayne shifted his version yet again. He now claimed that he and Sonia actually had, intercourse on the night of October 10th. According to him, he didn't want to pursue a relationship because he allegedly loved his wife. He still admitted to sleeping with Sonia and volunteered that he didn't use protection. Dwayne added that he had put his hands around Sonia's throat for light bondage, but insisted that they never used any ropes. When questioned about the rope he purchased at Walmart, he said he had unraveled it inside the Airbnb but never used it. He also described the entire encounter as Vanilla.

Starting point is 00:22:19 As it was made clear to him that the feds could smell his lies, he started saying the actual course of events. He admitted that he had known Sonia for almost two years. They met on motherless.com, which is an adult site. Duane's username on the platform was Alphasatist. Sonia and Duane initially spoke about bondage and Sonia's desire to have someone kill her. Dwayne also admitted to filming Sonia, but he claimed that because she wasn't behaving right,

Starting point is 00:22:48 in his own words, he deleted the footage. During the search of his phone, however, investigators found the exact video that he was referring to. It had been recorded on October 11th and deleted just three seconds after it was made. The file was recovered from the local DCIM cache folder on Dwayne's device. The video ran four minutes and 16 seconds. We obviously cannot play the video here. Only Sonia appears in the footage, but Dwayne's voice is clearly heard off camera, asking her questions. Sonia is inside the Airbnb, looking disheveled, visibly distressed, and with tears in her eyes.

Starting point is 00:23:24 She's still wearing the same clothes she had on at the airport. There are noticeable bruises on her body. At one point, Dwayne asks her why she's here, and Sonia hesitantly responds because I'm an awful person. Dwayne then asked Sonia why she thinks she's an awful person. Sonia quietly answers, I've crushed everyone who ever loves me. Dwayne follows up by asking what she had been consenting to here today, and Sonia hesitates and then asks him back what he means by that and if it's killing her.

Starting point is 00:23:54 Dwayne presses further asking what kind of treatment she supposedly consented to beforehand. After a brief pause, Sonia responds to be stabbed. He then asks her how she's been treated over the last two days. Sonia looks confused and says she can't remember because they talked about. a lot of things. Duane moves on and asks about her face. Sonia answers bluntly, you've beaten me. Duane immediately follows up with, is that what you wanted? Sonia hesitates, then says, I guess, literally speaking. After that, he asks her if she's being forced. Sonia simply shakes her head no. Duane pushes even further. This is how you wanted to die, right? You wanted to be

Starting point is 00:24:35 beaten and made to suffer because you're such a piece of shit. Sonia, looking down, nods, in agreement. Duane tells her, say it. Sonia repeats it back in a low and defeated voice. Duane responds with a chilling, good, good. He again asks if she is being forced. Sonia shakes her head no. Finally, he asks if she's happy and getting what she wants. Sonia just quietly nods. During his interview with the feds, Dwayne straight up said he had violent tendencies, but he added that ever since his wife felt ill in August of 2025 that he hadn't felt that way. He also claimed that he was the last person to see Sonia alive, but insisted he was only trying to help her. Even went as far as saying he could have taken her into Alligator Alley and let nature do its course,

Starting point is 00:25:19 but he chose not to. When investigators asked him if that was violent enough for Sonia, Dwayne casually motioned with his hands, basically implying he could have handled that part himself beforehand. When asked about Sonia's family, Dwayne said he would just tell them that was the last time he saw her, she was happy, and that she got what she wanted. Same time, he kept trying to frame himself as some kind of mentor or saint. According to him, Sonia had been in a good place over the past few weeks because he helped her switch up her daily routine. He also claimed he understood her because he knows what it's like to live with depression. Still, Dwayne insisted he didn't know what happened to Sonia.

Starting point is 00:25:55 Claim the last time he saw her was Saturday night when she supposedly got into a tan Cadillac Eldorado with some unknown person. But when detectives pulled up surveillance footage, there wasn't a single trace of a similar vehicle in that area for three straight months. When investigators told him that the woods, where he said he had parked for an hour of the morning of October 12th, was already being searched, Duane immediately asked to end the interview. Regardless, he was arrested anyway for credit card fraud and unlawful use of a two-way communication device. Later, when he finally agreed to talk again, he told investigators he wanted to tell the truth this time. According to Dwayne, he only wanted to make Sonia's life better and he didn't want her to

Starting point is 00:26:34 remove herself from this earth. He claimed Sonia told him that other people, she had been talking to either fell in love with her or backed out, meaning they couldn't go through with killing her. Over the past year, Sonia had even offered to help Dwayne with the money he owed the IRS, and in return, Dwayne agreed to kill her. Dwayne also said they had already worked out a cover story so he wouldn't get in trouble. He claimed that Sonia was the one who insisted that he stick to it because she didn't want him punished for helping her out.

Starting point is 00:27:03 He further added that he couldn't help locate Sonia's body because she didn't want to be found. As for the bruises, investigators might find, Dwayne said they could have been from rough intercourse done at her insistence. When investigators asked Dwayne if Sonia had changed her mind, he flat out said no. Instead, he claimed Sonia got upset with him because he didn't want to participate in bondage with her. As for Sonia's belongings,

Starting point is 00:27:29 Dwayne said most of it was donated. According to him, he put the items in a clothing donation box on October 12th. Dwayne also added that Sony was a wrong, originally supposed to bring $4,000 in cash, but since she didn't have that much, she ended up paying him about $1,200 she had on her bank card. Meanwhile, Marion County Sheriff's Office, field force members were searching the wooded area around Southwest 30th Terrace in Southwest's 27th Circle, the same area where Duane claimed he had been hiding from that imaginary car that

Starting point is 00:28:02 was following him. Eventually, officers found a patch of disturbed soil large enough to hold a human body. Cadaver dogs also alerted at the same spot. When the area was excavated, human remains were discovered, later confirmed through fingerprints to be Sonia Exelby. Law enforcement also found a label from the shovel Dwayne had purchased. When the actual shovel was recovered from his garage, it still had dirt and reddish-brown stains on it. DNA results confirmed the shovel had been used to bury Sonia, and Dwayne's fingerprints were on the handle. Sonia's autopsy was finished on October 18th. The medical examiner determined she died from four sharp force injuries, likely from a knife.

Starting point is 00:28:46 The manner of death was declared a homicide. The next day, Sonia's belongings were also pulled from a large truck holding donated items from different bins, and forensic testing proved once again that Dwayne's DNA was all over them. Dwayne's phone records also backed up the final version of events he gave to investigators, but there was still one more piece of evidence that tied him, straight to Sonia's murder. That was the knife he used to stab her. For some twisted reason, Duane had some sort of sentimental value to this knife. His information came out through his Facebook chats with his friend Richard Snyder, aka Rick Stoner, and in those messages,

Starting point is 00:29:23 Dwayne admitted sending Rick a secret package to hold onto. Inside it was his engraved cold steel tonto knife, its sheath and a bracelet. Police later retrieved the items while they searched Rick's house. The knife was seven inches long and had an engraving on it that read, Dark Wolf, pointy end, goes in the other guy. Going to Rick, Dark Wolf was Dwayne's screen name. Rick later admitted that he had burned the packaging and hid the items in a black fabric bag he had sewn shut. When investigators finally recovered the knife, chemical testing confirmed Sonia's blood was on the blade, and DNA from both Sonia and Dwayne showed up on the bracelet. After this discovery, Dwayne was charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping on top of all of his other

Starting point is 00:30:06 charges. During his initial court appearance on November 17th, Judge Lori Cotton told Dwayne the following. Under these circumstances, that there is no condition of bond that would assure your presence in court to keep the community safe and the facts of this case, there is a large amount of evidence against you. As with any case that is yet to go to trial, Dwayne Hall is considered. innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. It will be keeping an eye out for updates as they become available. Unfortunately, there's still no publicly available information about Sonia's funeral services, but her story will be remembered.

Starting point is 00:30:46 Not as someone defined by her depression, but someone who still showed love, kindness, and warmth to everyone around her, even when she was at her lowest. On December 21st of this year, Sonia's partner, Stevie Hunt, will be running in the Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon in her memory. We'll have a link to Stevie's Just Giving campaign in our pin comment and video description. In it, he shared the following, which reads in part. Hello, in the cold and no doubt rain on December 21st at 8.30 in the morning, I will be running in the Portsmouth Coastal Waterside Marathon.

Starting point is 00:31:19 In the last few weeks, my world was rocked when my partner of nearly 15 years passed away. It was 50-50 weather to still go through with the run and commit to the train required. After some deep thoughts in talking to friends and family, I've decided to commit and go forward with the run because it's what my Sonia would have wanted. I was always going to run for cats' protection because cats have always been such a big part of our life. If I didn't go ahead with the run, I'd feel like I was letting Sonia down, but most importantly, the cats, and that's something Sonia wouldn't have forgiven me for. Our cat, Merrill is sat on my lap as I type this, and sometimes on the keyboard. She's refusing to let me be upset and demanding love. I am blessed to have her in my life.

Starting point is 00:31:59 Cats give us so much love. Why cats protection? Because some cats are alone without a roof, cold and scared. Cats protection campaign on cat welfare to improve the lives of cats and to protect them from harm. They are determined to stand up for every cat who needs them, no matter how difficult the circumstances. One of the scariest parts of this case that I feel hasn't gotten enough attention is the fact that there was a man out there trolling the internet for a woman to kill. Dwayne was a creep that was searching for someone vulnerable to hurt, and unfortunately, Sonia fell victim to his perversions. It doesn't matter if Sonia actually consented or not.

Starting point is 00:32:39 Duane should have been a decent human being and got her the help that she needed, but he didn't. One common thing we've seen people say about this case is that they've never heard of anything like it before. While some of the details from Sonia's story are something you rarely hear about, the part that is most common is the fact that a predatory man was looking to take advantage of a vulnerable woman. If Sonia's story resonated with you, then click here to check out our coverage of the crimes of Wade Wilson. He was another Florida man who preyed upon vulnerable women. We could only hope that if there is more awareness around stories like these, there will be far fewer victims.

The Misery Machine - The Case of Sonia Exelby

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