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The mother of murdered Florida teenager Danika Troy says her 14-year-old daughter was lured into the woods by one of the boys now charged with killing her, a teen she believed had romantic feelings for her.
In an interview with the New York Post, Ashley Troy said 16-year-old Gabriel Williams “pretended to have feelings for her,” leading Danika to trust him enough to follow him into the wooded trail where she was ambushed.
“That’s how she was lured,” she said.
Williams and 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins have both been charged with first-degree premeditated murder in Danika’s death.
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The mom of Danika Troy, a 14-year-old Florida teenager, says she believes her daughter was lured into the woods by Gabriel Williams, who allegedly pretended to have romantic feelings before the girl was murdered. (GoFundMe)
Ashley said she is still desperate for answers. “I still need answers. I’m just left asking why,” she told the outlet. “She just wanted to be in love.”
Danika was reported missing by her mother 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.
Authorities quickly identified the alleged killers, two teens who knew Danika from school, and took them into custody.
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Authorities said two teenagers are facing murder charges in the death of 14-year-old Danika Troy, who was found shot to death and burned in a wooded area in Florida after being reported missing. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
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.”
Ashley rejected that narrative. “What those boys said is an excuse,” she told the Post.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson confirmed Thursday that Danika’s body had been positively identified and said investigators rapidly zeroed in on Williams and Blevins. Both suspects had prior “run-ins” with law enforcement, he said, though details were not released because of their ages.
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Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson told reporters that the suspects were supposedly friends with the victim from school. He said investigators were still working to determine a motive. (Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office)
Johnson described the killing in stark terms.
“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 “don’t fit the forensics or any facts of the case,” adding, “so we don’t have a legit motive.”
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Both suspects remain held without bond at the Department of Juvenile Justice on first-degree murder charges. Prosecutors are coordinating with investigators as they determine whether the teens will be charged as adults.
“If you do an adult crime, you gotta do adult time,” Johnson said.
Ashley previously said she believes “evil influence” played a role in her daughter’s killing, but she wants accountability. She said she wants “nothing less than for them to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.