A Florida teenager initially reported as a runaway was found shot and burned in a wooded area this week, and two teenage boys are now facing charges in her killing.
Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson announced Thursday that a 16-year-old and a 14-year-old have been arrested and charged with premeditated first-degree murder in the death of 14-year-old Danika Jade Troy. Authorities hope to charge both suspects as adults, though their names have not been released because they are minors.

Troy’s mother reported her missing on Monday, Dec. 1, after the girl failed to return home to Pace, a community east of the Alabama border. “But unbeknownst to the mother, unfortunately, Danika was murdered the previous night,” Johnson said at a press conference.
Investigators believe Troy, who had her electric scooter with her, was lured into a wooded area by the two boys. “This is where it gets really horrific,” Johnson told reporters. He alleged that the 16-year-old stole his mother’s handgun and shot Troy multiple times before he and the younger boy set her body on fire.
“It’s bad enough you kill a 14-year-old,” Johnson said. “You’re 14. You’re 16. They shot her multiple times then they set her on fire.” Detectives are still working to determine a motive, but authorities said the teens and Troy were “supposedly” friends from school.

A passerby discovered Troy’s burned, bullet-riddled body on Tuesday, Dec. 2, and called 911. Johnson said investigators quickly began focusing on the two boys. “Major crimes calls that a ground ball,” he said. “The evidence pointed to them immediately.”
A GoFundMe created to assist Troy’s family with funeral expenses has raised more than $5,500. “This is a hard time for the family and anything will help,” the organizer wrote.
Both suspects are being held by the Department of Juvenile Justice. It is not yet known whether they have retained legal counsel.





