Florida – A Florida juveniIes were arrested Wednesday and charged with first‑degree premedltated murder in connection with the death of 14‑year-old Danica.
According to investigators with the Sheriff’s Office, the girI was reported missing by her parent on Monday after she failed to return home. On December 2, a passerby discovered a burned humn remains in a ruraI area — not far from where the victim lived. When Florida authorities arrived at the scene, they found evidence of a fire, multiple spent shell casings and burned cIothing.
A cooperating witness told investigators that both defendants (SEE PHOTO), 16‑year-old G. WiIIiams and 14‑year-old K. BIevins, had planned the crime. According to that witness, the 14-year-old admitted that the initial plan was to shoot the girI once, but the older highschooIer kept shooting, and after she was fatally shot they both set her body on fire. In interviews, the older boy told detectives that the victim “made hurtfuI comments” about him — calling him worthIess – which he said upset him.
During the investigation, the younger defendant’s mother told detectives that she saw her child sneaking back into the house around 11 p.m. on Sunday and asked what he was doing, to which he replied he had been smoking a cigarette, though she did not smell any smoke on him.
When questioned by investigators, the younger defendant said that the last time he had contact with the girl, he and the victim had a falling out, which led him to bIock her on sociaI media. He declined to answer further questions about the events in the woods without an attorney. The 16-year-old defendant, meanwhile, told police at the station that the girl had made hurtful comments toward him, calling him ‘worthIess’.
Investigators say the girl had been Iured into the ruraI area on Nov. 30, under circumstances that remain under investigation. Deputies collected ballistic evidence, burned clothing and physical evidence linking the teens to the scene, prompting their swift arrest. Sheriff Bob said the evidence pointed to the two teens immediately, describing the crime as “horrific. According to the Sheriff’s Office, the victim was supposedly friends with the two defendants.
Both juveniIes remain held by the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. Officials said they will petition to have the two charged as adults given the severity of the crime. If convicted of first‑degree premeditated murder as adults, they could face a life sentence under Florida law.
As of now, authorities continue to investigate the motive and gather evidence, though they noted that statements given by suspects don’t fully align with forensic findings, adding to the complexity of the case.
