Oregon teen convicted of raping, choking middle schooler and dumping her body in a stream

BEAVERTON, Ore. (TCN) -- A jury convicted an 18-year-old man of multiple charges for sexually assaulting and killing a 13-year-old girl in what prosecutors said was part of his "fantasy."

The Washington County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday, Nov. 22, that Daniel Gore was found guilty of the first-degree murder, first-degree rape, and first-degree sexual abuse of Milana Li. Gore’s trial lasted two weeks.

Li was last seen at her apartment on the afternoon of May 8, 2022. Her mother reported her missing to the Beaverton Police Department the next day when she couldn’t find her and learned that Li never made it to school. The teen’s friend and mom looked for her in a wooded area that "she was known to visit from time to time" and discovered Li’s clothes and shoes. Police arrived and found Li "half-submerged under a weighted-down blanket in a creek."

Investigators identified Gore as a suspect after finding his DNA on Li. Packing straps for the blanket Li had been wrapped in were located in Gore's tent as well. Beaverton Police tried to approach Gore in a library a few days later, but he ran away. Officers eventually caught up to him and took him into custody. The district attorney’s office said detectives found out Gore called his girlfriend after killing Li and "told her something bad happened but that he 'took care of it.'"

Senior Deputy District Attorney Andy Pulver described Gore as a "wolf in sheep’s clothing as he lured Milana into a false sense of security before he brutally raped and killed her in a wooded area."

According to The Oregonian/Oregon Live, Gore and Li knew each other and even spent the day riding around on city buses before he took her to the woods. After sexually assaulting her, Gore choked Li for several minutes until she died.

Gore attempted to create an alibi by texting Li and even telling his friends that they went separate ways at a bus stop. A detective searched through his phone and uncovered sexually violent content. They also found a skull mask, markings related to a horror genre rapper, and a diary entry that read, "I feel like Dexter."

Gore’s defense attorney argued Gore’s DNA wasn’t found on Li’s body.

The Oregonian/Oregon Live reports J. Mark Lawrence asked the jury, "How could he possibly have raped and murdered her when there’s not a cell of DNA evidence on his person? We know who the killer is — we have his DNA — we just have to find him."

Gore will be sentenced Dec. 2. He faces life in prison with the possibility of parole.

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