An Oregon teen was found guilty on all counts after raping and killing a 13-year-old girl.
Daniel R. Gore, now 18, was convicted in May 2022, when he was 16 years old, of raping and strangling 13-year-old sixth-grader Milana Li in a bush.
A panel of jurors took less than 90 minutes to convict the teen of first-degree murder, rape and sexual abuse. 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 Dec. 2.
Li and Gore became friends 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 back and forth on Southwest Scholls Ferry Road on that fateful day, Gore took 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 in a shallow creek and tried to hide it with a waterproof tarp and logs. Her clothes were scattered on nearby bushes.
Gore had a passion for gory music by rapper 7XVN and serial killers, but Senior Deputy District Attorney John Gerhard said that didn’t drive the teen to create a real horror show.
Daniel R. Gore, now 18, was convicted in May 2022, when he was 16 years old, of raping and strangling 13-year-old sixth-grader Milana Li in a bush. A panel of jurors took less than 90 minutes to convict the teen 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 follow 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 the Andover Park Apartments and began texting several people he and Li had separated at a bus stop near Southeast 125th Avenue.
However, surveillance footage showed otherwise and according to The Oregonian, the pair were seen heading towards Gore’s encampment.
He also called his girlfriend Eva Camara at the time 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 texted Li’s phone, which he had with his friend, to bolster his alibi, but her side never responded, the local station said.
He also started telling his friends, “I got drunk and they did.” [expletive] baptized and I forgot she had my nic [vape] in her bag. Now she’s not responding.’
However, a friend he went to after the murder testified that Gore did not appear drunk and had been quieter than usual.
After a day of riding buses back and forth on Southwest Scholls Ferry Road on that fateful day, Gore took Li back to his tent where he allegedly raped her and then strangled her for three to five minutes until she died (photo: place offense)
He then dumped the teen’s body in a shallow creek and tried to hide her with a waterproof tarp and logs. Her clothes were scattered on nearby bushes (photo: 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 in the Murrayhill Library, where he escaped through the emergency exit. He was arrested twenty minutes later after a chase.
When police searched his phone, they found sexual assault searches and the symbols representing 7XVN craved in 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 in Li’s body, but his defense team argued that this came from a consensual encounter.
She also had an unknown man’s DNA on her clothing and under her fingernails, but Gore’s DNA was not found under her fingernails.
Her DNA was not found on him.
“How could he possibly have raped and murdered her if there was no DNA evidence on his person?” Gore’s attorney, J. Mark Lawrence, questioned the jury.
His DNA was also found in Li’s body, but his defense team (pictured) claimed this came from a consensual encounter. “How could he possibly have raped and murdered her if there wasn’t a cell with DNA evidence on his person,” Gore’s attorney, J. Mark Lawrence, wondered.
Prosecutors speculated that Gore’s DNA was not under her fingernails because she was face down when she was strangled.
“The last few minutes of Milana Li’s life were unbearable. She fought, but it was a terrifying ending,” prosecutor Andy Pulver said, according to The Oregonian.
When the teen, who did not testify, received his sentencing, he showed no emotion, according to the newspaper.
His mother was seen holding hands with Li’s mother and the lead detective was crying, according to The Oregonian.
Prior to the murder, Gore had already accrued a juvenile criminal record and had pending charges of second-degree arson, criminal mischief and theft when he was arrested in May 2022.
He was released back to his parents and escaped time in a juvenile detention center KKG.
He soon ran away from home and his father informed the youth department, but nothing was done.