By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-23 15:44:56 | Updated at 2024-11-23 17:49:24
2 hours ago
An Oregon teenager was found guilty on all counts after raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl.
Daniel R. Gore, now 18, was convicted of raping and strangling sixth-grader Milana Li, 13, in a grove a trees in May 2022 when he was 16 years old.
A panel of jurors took less than 90 minutes to convict the teenager of first-degree murder, rape and sexual abuse, according to The Oregonian.
Gore, who was tried as an adult - a rarity in Oregon - faces life in prison with the possibility of parole and will be sentenced on December 2.
Li and Gore struck up a friendship while she was attending school at Conestoga Middle School. At the time, Gore was living in a tent in a wooded area after running away from home.
After hours of riding buses up and down Southwest Scholls Ferry Road on that fateful day, Gore would take Li back to his tent where he raped her and then strangled her for three to five minutes until she died.
He then dumped the teen's body into a shallow creek and tried to conceal it with a waterproof tarp and logs. Her clothing was scattered throughout nearby bushes.
Gore had a passion for gory music by rapper 7XVN and serial killers, but Senior Deputy District Attorney, John Gerhard, said this wasn't what prompted the teenager to create a real-life horror show.
Daniel R. Gore, now 18, was convicted of raping and strangling sixth-grader Milana Li, 13, in a grove a trees in May 2022 when he was 16 years old. A panel of jurors took less than 90 minutes to convict the teenager of first-degree murder, rape, and sexual abuse
Li and Gore struck up a friendship while the former was attending school at Conestoga Middle School
'It was his choice to take a vulnerable girl who trusted him and followed him into the wood and act out his fantasy,' the attorney told the jury.
After the killing, Gore went over to a friend's house at the Andover Park Apartments and began texting several people that he and Li had separated at a bus stop near Southeast 125th Avenue.
However, surveillance footage showed otherwise and the pair were seen making their way to Gore's encampment, according to The Oregonian.
He also called his girlfriend at the time, Eva Camara, and claimed Li had tried to kiss him and he had 'taken care of it'.
Camara had texted her friend: 'I hate knowing the truth.'
Gore also texted Li's phone, which he had with him at his friend's, to strengthen his alibi, but her side never responded, according to the local outlet.
He also began telling friends: 'I got hella drunk and she [expletive] dipped and I forgot she had my nic [vape] in her bag. Now she ain’t responding.'
However, a friend he went to after the killing testified that Gore did not appear to be intoxicated and had been quieter than usual.
After a day of riding buses up and down Southwest Scholls Ferry Road on that fateful day, Gore would take Li back to his tent where he would rape her and then strangled her for three to five minutes until she died (pictured: crime scene)
He then dumped the teen's body into a shallow creek and tried to conceal her with a waterproof tarp and logs. Her clothing was scattered throughout nearby bushes (pictured: crime scene)
Li's mother reported the girl missing the morning after the slaying when she noticed the girl wasn't home after returning from her night shift.
Beaverton Police found Gore at the Murrayhill Library, where he escaped out the emergency exit. He was apprehended 20 minutes later after a chase.
When police searched his phone, they had found searches for sexual violence and the symbols that represent 7XVN craved into a tree near his tent, according to The Oregonian.
He had also written in his diary that he felt 'like Dexter,' a fictional serial killer.
His DNA was also found inside Li's body, but his defense team argued it was from a consensual encounter.
She also had an unidentified man's DNA on her clothes and beneath her fingernails, but Gore's DNA was not found under her nails.
Her DNA was not found on him.
'How could he possibly have raped and murdered her when there’s not a cell of DNA evidence on his person?' Gore's Attorney, J. Mark Lawrence, questioned the jury.
His DNA was also found inside Li's body, but his defense team (pictured) argued it was from a consensual encounter. 'How could he possibly have raped and murdered her when there’s not a cell of DNA evidence on his person,' Gore's Attorney, J. Mark Lawrence, questioned
Prosecutors speculated Gore's DNA wasn't under her fingernails because she was lying face down when she was strangled.
'The last few minutes of Milana Li’s life were excruciating. She fought, but it was a terrifying end,' prosecutor Andy Pulver said, according to The Oregonian.
When the teenager, who did not testify, received his guilty verdict, he showed no emotion, according to the outlet.
His mother was seen holding hands with Li's mother and the lead detective cried, according to The Oregonian.
Prior to the murder, Gore had already racked up a juvenile record and had pending charges for second-degree arson, criminal mischief, and theft when he was arrested in May 2022.
He was released back to his parents, escaping having to do time in a juvenile detention center, according to KGW.
He soon ran away from home and his father notified the juvenile department, but nothing was done.
