Seven suspects, including six teenagers, pleaded not guilty this week to the kidnapping and killing of a 16-year-old Arizona boy who was brutally beaten in October, allegedly over a gold necklace.
Dominic Turner, 20, Taylor Reagan Sherman, 19, Treston John Billey, 18, William Owen Hines, 18, Jacob Ryan Meisner, 17, Talan Renner, 17, and Talyn Ray Vigil, 17, were all charged as adults with first-degree murder and kidnapping in connection with the death of 16-year-old Preston Lord, according to an announcement by the Queen Creek Police Department in Arizona and court records reviewed by HuffPost.
Turner and Meisner also face an additional charge of aggravated robbery, according to court records.
Police in Queen Creek, a Phoenix suburb, responded to an non-emergency report on Oct. 28 of a “juvenile disturbance,” according to a news release. When officers arrived, they reported finding no illegal activity and were then sent on another call of a potential crime.
Almost an hour later, police received a call about an assault at the same location and found a badly beaten teenage boy, later identified as Lord, on the road and administered lifesaving measures before he was taken to the hospital, according to the news release.
According to local news outlet AZ Family, the incident took place following a Halloween party. The owner of the home where the party took place told AZ Family that “it was just supposed to be” her daughter’s friends in attendance, but it “turned out to be a lot of people that were not invited who ended up showing up to the party.”
On the night of the attack, Lord’s aunt, on a GoFundMe page she’d launched, said he was in critical condition at the hospital with a severe brain injury. He died two days later.
The investigation continued for months without an arrest or charges being filed but with more than 200 tips submitted to police and more than 50 warrants served. But on March 7, officials announced that a grand jury had indicted seven suspects in the case.
Court documents cited by AZ Family said that Lord did not know the suspects and alleged that the attack began when a gold chain belonging to one of the victim’s friends was stolen.
According to the documents, Lord and his friends attempted to get the chain back, but the confrontation grew violent.
The documents also allege that Talan Renner had been “taken out of the area” following the incident and noted that his family had “financial means to aid in fleeing to Mexico.”
When AZ Family questioned Talan Renner’s father, Travis Renner, about the claim that his son had been taken out of the area, the family’s attorney responded that “the internet is full of misinformation.”