In this episode of Pushing Up Lilies, I’m covering the tragic and deeply disturbing case of Sonia Exelby, a 32-year-old woman from Portsmouth, England, who traveled to the United States in October of 2024… and never made it home. According to investigators, Sonia flew into Gainesville, Florida, after connecting online with a man named Dwain Hall through a fetish website. She was expected to return to the UK just three days later, but she never boarded her flight. What followed became an international homicide investigation that shocked both sides of the Atlantic. As I walk through the timeline of Sonia’s final days, I do so with compassion and care, because beneath the headlines was a real woman whose life mattered. A woman who trusted someone she believed she knew… and whose story ended in unimaginable tragedy. From an investigative standpoint, I also discuss the complexities of cases involving online relationships, long-distance travel, digital evidence, and how quickly missing person cases can escalate into homicide investigations. This episode is not about judgment or sensationalism. It’s about understanding the vulnerability that can exist in human connection, the realities investigators face in cases like this, and honoring the victim at the center of the story. This episode contains discussion of violence, homicide, and sensitive themes involving online exploitation. Please take care of yourself while listening. EPISODE TRANSCRIPT:  00:06 Welcome to Pushing Up Lilies. I’m your host, Julie Mattson. Pushing Up Lilies is a weekly true crime podcast with spine-tingling, unusual, and terrifyingly true stories from my perspective as a forensic death investigator and a sexual assault nurse examiner.  00:24 Do I have some stories for you? Are you ready? Hey guys, welcome to another episode of Pushing Up Lilies. I hope this microphone works. I had to recharge it. I had like half of this recorded and then it went down.  00:42 Anyway, I wanted to mention this week that we are having another True Crime Club meetup. It’s going to be this Friday, May 15th at 6.30 at McCart Street Mercantile at 137 West McCart Street in Krum.  00:59 It’s the same place we had our last one. At this one, it’s going to be a lot of fun. Again, it’s hosted by our blended table, which is a wonderful coffee bar inside the McCart Street Mercantile. My friend Tiana owns it and she’s amazing and just one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.  01:18 So, if you get a chance to go in there, stop by and talk to her. A game we’re going to play this week is, it was developed by a lady that I met at Beyond the Crime. Her entire family are attorneys. And basically, the game uses real life scenarios to teach players about interrogations and misdemeanors and felonies.  01:44 And she read some of the cards to me and it’s called, again, crime or no crime. And it basically tests you, you know, if this happened, is it a crime or not? And many of them that she asked me, I got wrong.  01:58 I thought I was fairly educated, but y’all, I would be in a lot of trouble because a lot of these things I thought were okay are not okay. I love this game. And we all know that ignorance of the law is no defense.  02:12 So, it kind of helps to learn. And some of the questions are things that you would never really think of. But a lot of them that she asked me about were things that I really thought were okay. So, it’s going to be a lot of fun.  02:28 We’re going to have paddles, and you’ll be able to answer yes or no. We’re going to give away some prizes. So come see us this Friday, at 6.30 at McCart Street Mercantile. The owner Heather is amazing too.  02:40 And y’all, there are some absolutely gorgeous handmade items in there that are the best gifts ever. I personally shop in there a lot for special events because there are things in there that you won’t find anywhere else and I love it.  02:59 Check them out. 137 West McCart Street, Krum, Texas, and you can also purchase online. I do want to talk a little bit about a very interesting case this week, but also, I shipped all my stuff to CrimeCon.  03:15 I think I told you all that last week. Super excited. It’s supposed to get there today. I am anxiously awaiting my UPS confirmation because I’m a little nervous. I mean, I mailed 10 boxes and I just hope that all 10 get there when they’re supposed to and they go to the right place and nothing gets lost or broken or stolen because shipping is expensive.  03:40 Shipping, it was unbelievable. Anyway, we’ll get on to this week, but I would love for all of you who are coming to CrimeCon to come and meet me. I’m in booth 62 in the exhibitors hall. And again, lots of giveaways at my booth, prizes to be given away.  04:02 And I will also be signing copies of my new comic book. So come and get that because those supplies are going to be limited. Okay, this week we’re going to talk about Sonia Exelby. We’re going to do a little forensic breakdown.  04:16 I don’t know if y’all have heard this story, but we’re going to give you the facts. We’re going to give you what we know. On October 10th, 2025, 32-year-old woman from Portsmouth, England named Sonia Exelby boarded a flight from the United Kingdom to the United States.  04:32 Now, she landed at Gainesville Regional Airport in north central Florida, and she was met at the airport by a 53-year-old man that she’d been speaking with online for roughly about two years. Three days later, Sonia missed her return flight home.  04:48 Her parents reported her missing, and six days after that, on October 17th, her remains