Shot and burned girl’s mum says she doesn’t ‘blame’ charged teen boys | US | News

The mother of a Florida teenager who was brutally murdered this week has spoken out following the arrest of two teenage suspects.

Fourteen-year-old Danika Troy was found dead in a wooded area in Pace, Florida, on Tuesday after her mother, Ashley Troy, reported her missing. A passerby found his burned body with gunshot wounds.

Santa Rose County police officers arrested 16-year-old Gabriel Williams and 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins on Wednesday, charging them with first-degree intentional homicide in connection with her death. The boys allegedly lured him into the woods, shot him and set him on fire.

The investigation is still ongoing, but authorities suspect the two boys planned the murder after the public fell out with their “so-called friends” during the Thanksgiving holiday; Meanwhile, he allegedly insulted Williams and blocked Blevins online.

Troy’s mother, a devout Baptist, expressed sympathy for the boys, whom she described as her daughter’s friends.

“I don’t blame those kids. I blame the bad influence,” the heartbroken mother told The New York Post via text message. “I don’t hate them, I hate what they did to my baby.”

He later added: “He loved them and they brutally killed him.”

However, he stated that he “wanted nothing less than their trial to the fullest extent of the law.”

A candlelight memorial service will be held for the slain teenager Monday evening at his family’s church, Avalon Baptist Church in Milton. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help with funeral expenses.

“She was beautiful and loved Jesus,” Ashley said of her daughter. “If anything was worth that sacrifice, it would be pointing others to Christ.”

The mother explained that their church, Avalon Baptist Church, near Milton, rallied around her family during this tragic time.

Following the discovery of his body, police launched an investigation and interviewed witnesses linked to the crime. Witnesses claimed Blevins told them that he and Williams “planned Danika’s murder.”

The witness stated that “the initial plan was to shoot Danika once.”

However, according to the police, the situation escalated further when the children set the body on fire.

Blevins reportedly confessed to officers in the backseat of the unmarked car after his mother allowed him to talk to them and he was read his Miranda Rights. She claimed that she last spoke to Troy over the Thanksgiving weekend break.

She stated that she and Troy “had a falling out and she blocked him on social media.”

The officers asked for a lawyer to be present while questioning what happened in the forest.

Blevins’ mother reported that her son claimed he “sneaked” into their home around 11 p.m. Sunday and went outside to smoke. However, he stated that he could not smell any smoke on him, which raised suspicion.

Following Blevins’ arrest, officers questioned Williams at the police station, where he allegedly admitted to Troy making “hurtful comments” and labeling him “trashy and a gang member.”

Later he was also detained.

Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson hinted during a press conference that the investigation was ongoing because the facts did not add up, but confirmed that the three were “so-called friends.”

“The justification we received does not fit the forensics or any of the facts of the case,” he said, explaining that Williams “stole his mother’s gun and shot Danika Troy.”

Both teens are currently being held without bail at the Santa Rosa Juvenile Detention Center.