An Oregon teenager was found guilty on all charges after raping and murdering a 13-year-old girl.
Daniel R. Gore, now 18, was convicted of raping and strangling 13-year-old sixth-grade student Milana Li in the woods in May 2022, when she was 16 years old.
A panel of jurors took less than 90 minutes to convict the teen 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 High School. At the time, Gore was living in a tent in a wooded area after running away from home.
After hours of traveling by bus along Southwest Scholls Ferry Road on that fateful day, Gore would take Li back to his store, where he raped her and then strangled her for three to five minutes until she died.
He then dumped the teen’s body in a shallow creek and tried to hide it with a tarp and logs. His clothes were scattered among the nearby bushes.
Gore had a passion for rapper 7XVN’s bloody music and serial killers, but Deputy District Attorney John Gerhard said this was not what drove the teenager to create a real-life horror show.
Daniel R. Gore, now 18, was convicted of raping and strangling 13-year-old sixth-grader Milana Li in a forest in May 2022, when she was 16 years old. A panel of jurors took less than 90 minutes to convict the teen of first-degree murder, rape and sexual abuse.
Li and Gore became friends while the former was attending school at Conestoga High School.
“It was his decision to take a vulnerable girl who trusted him and followed him into the woods and act out his fantasy,” the lawyer told the jury.
After the murder, Gore went to a friend’s house at Andover Park Apartments and began texting several people telling them that he and Li had separated at a bus stop near Southeast 125th Avenue.
However, surveillance footage showed otherwise and the couple was seen heading to Gore’s camp, according to The Oregonian.
He also called his girlfriend at the time, Eva Camara, and claimed that Li had tried to kiss him and that he had “taken care of it.”
Camara had texted her friend: “I hate knowing the truth.”
Gore also sent a text message to Li’s phone, which he had with him at his friend’s house, to strengthen his alibi, but his side never responded, according to the local outlet.
She also started telling her friends, “I got really drunk and she (expletive) dived and I forgot I had my nic (vape) in her bag.” Now she doesn’t respond.
However, a friend he turned to after the murder testified that Gore did not appear to be intoxicated and had been calmer than usual.
After a day of riding the bus along Southwest Scholls Ferry Road on that fateful day, Gore would take Li back to his store where he would rape her and then strangle her for three to five minutes until she died (pictured: scene from crime).
He then dumped the teen’s body in a shallow stream and tried to hide her with a tarp and logs. His clothes were scattered in the nearby bushes (pictured: crime scene)
Li’s mother reported the girl missing the morning after the murder when she noticed the girl was not home after returning from her night shift.
Beaverton police found Gore at the Murrayhill Library, where he escaped through the emergency exit. He was arrested 20 minutes later after a chase.
When police searched his phone, they found searches for sexual violence and symbols representing 7XVN longed for on a tree near his store, 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 a consensual encounter.
She also had DNA from an unidentified man on her clothing and under her fingernails, but no Gore’s DNA was found under her fingernails.
His DNA was not found on him.
‘How could he have raped and murdered her when there is not a single 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 a consensual encounter. “How could he have raped and murdered her when there is not a single cell of DNA evidence on her person?” questioned Gore’s attorney, J. Mark Lawrence.
Prosecutors speculated that Gore’s DNA was not under her fingernails because she was lying face down when she was strangled.
‘The last minutes of Milana Li’s life were unbearable. She fought back, but it was a terrifying end,” prosecutor Andy Pulver said, according to The Oregonian.
When the teen, 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.
Before the murder, Gore already had a juvenile record and had pending charges for second-degree arson, criminal mischief and robbery when he was arrested in May 2022.
He was returned to his parents, avoiding having to serve 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.