The Telegraph has spent nine months investigating the short life and appalling death of the young British woman Sonia Exelby.
Why did the 32-year-old music tutor fly to Florida to meet Dwain Hall, a man known as “Alphasadist”, who she had been speaking to online?
Hall is currently awaiting trial for Exelby’s murder.
Max Stephens, the Telegraph’s international crime correspondent, travelled to see the remote crime scene, then studied 15 hours of Hall’s interrogation by Florida detectives.
Another piece of the puzzle came together through interviews with Hall’s wife, revealing his double life and possible motivations.
Finally, through earning the trust of Sonia’s family, who hadn’t spoken before, we have been able to get to the heart of this story – her fatal vulnerability.
Watch Max Stephens describe the story and see inside the police interrogation in our special in-depth video investigation.
Video Producer: Louis Brady
Senior Video Editor: Josh Bourne
Graphic Designer: Ben Blease
Read more about Sonia's story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/07/21/sonia-exelby-bdsm-death-mystery/
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