Soniya Jaela Whiskey-Hull, a 17-year-old female, was tragically killed in the early morning hours of December 6, 2025, in Henrico County, Virginia. The incident occurred approximately at 1:35 a.m. at an extended-stay motel located in the 2100 block of Dickens Road in the near West End. Soniya was attending a gathering inside one of the hotel rooms when gunfire erupted. Emergency responders arrived to find her suffering from fatal gunshot wounds, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another victim, an adult woman, was also struck during the shooting and was transported to a local hospital with injuries that were determined to be non-life-threatening.
Police immediately launched a homicide investigation, utilizing evidence collected from the scene to identify those responsible. Court documents released following the event indicated that security surveillance video from the motel captured the moments a gunman fired a rifle into the occupied room. Following leads, Henrico Police arrested two suspects in connection with Soniya's death. Kyre Omari Martin and Khalid Rashad Price, both 18 years of age and residents of Henrico, were taken into custody and charged with second-degree murder.
The death of Soniya brought immense grief to her family, who were already navigating the loss of her mother to cancer. She is survived by her father, Raju Hull, and her siblings, Alayna Whiskey-Hull and Ja Quan Fraser. Described by loved ones as a vibrant soul with a bold purpose, Soniya was a student whose life was cut short by senseless violence. Her family and friends gathered to pay their final respects during a viewing and funeral service at the Henry W. Dabney Funeral Home in Ashland, and she was laid to rest at Roselawn Memory Gardens in Glen Allen on December 19, 2025.
