Florida teens to be tried as adults in brutal killing of 14-year-old girl

Two Florida teens will be tried as adults after a grand jury indicted them for premeditated murder in the killing of a 14-year-old girl who was shot multiple times and set on fire.

Gabriel Williams, 16, and Kimahri Blevins, 14, were each indicted by a grand jury with first-degree premeditated murder for allegedly luring Danika Troy to a wooded area in Pace before killing her, the Office of the State Attorney said in news releases on Friday.

Williams and Blevins will be tried as adults and will be held without bail in the Santa Rosa County Jail. Both cases were set for arraignment on Jan. 8, 2026.

Danika’s mother reported her as a runaway on Dec. 1. The next day, a passerby discovered her body in a wooded area in Pace, a community in Florida’s Panhandle. Investigators said she had been shot multiple times and set on fire.

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Investigators quickly identified the suspects as Gabriel Williams and Blevins, two teens who knew Danika from school, and took them into custody.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson described the killing at a news conference after Danika’s body was found earlier this month.

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“This is where it gets really horrific,” he said, explaining that Williams allegedly stole his mother’s handgun before shooting Danika. “It’s bad enough you kill a 14-year-old. You’re 14. You’re 16. Shoot her multiple times, and then they set her on fire.”

The motive for the killing remains unclear. Johnson said the explanations the teens offered at the time “don’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case,” adding, “so we don’t have a legit motive.”

Detectives initially believed the murder may have stemmed from a social-media dispute over Thanksgiving break. According to the sheriff’s office, the boys claimed they targeted Danika because she had blocked Blevins on social media and called Williams “worthless and a gang banger.”

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Danika’s mother, Ashley Troy, rejected that narrative, telling the New York Post, “What those boys said is an excuse.”

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.