The tragic death of 14-year-old Danika Jade Troy occurred in Pace, Florida, following her disappearance on the night of November 30, 2025. Danika was reported missing by her mother early the next morning after she was discovered absent from her home. Investigators later determined that she had been lured to a secluded wooded area off Kimberly Road, a location authorities described as deliberately chosen for its isolation. It was there that she was shot multiple times and her body was subsequently doused with gasoline and set on fire. Her remains were discovered on December 2, 2025, by a passerby, but due to the severity of the burns, she had to be identified through the shoes she was wearing and the electric scooter she had ridden to the site.
Law enforcement officers from the Santa Rosa County Sheriff's Office quickly identified and arrested two teenage suspects in connection with the murder: 16-year-old Gabriel Williams and 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins. Both suspects, who were schoolmates of the victim, were indicted on charges of first-degree premeditated murder. State prosecutors announced their decision to try both teenagers as adults given the heinous nature of the crime. According to police reports, the murder was allegedly planned following a dispute on social media, during which Danika reportedly made comments that upset the older suspect. While Danika believed she was meeting the 16-year-old—whom her mother stated she had a crush on—the suspects allegedly arrived with a plan to kill her.
In a disturbing development during the investigation, a third individual, Mitchell Eddins, was also arrested. Eddins was not implicated in the murder itself but was charged with petty theft and failure to report a death. Police allege that Eddins stumbled upon the crime scene and, rather than alerting authorities to the discovery of Danika's body, he stole her electric scooter and took it to his residence. The scooter was later recovered by deputies, and the firearm believed to be used in the shooting was seized from the home of one of the murder suspects. The two teenage defendants are currently being held without bond as they await trial.
