A jury in Washington County delivered a guilty verdict on Friday for an 18-year-old charged with the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl.
In May 2022, the body of Milana Li was discovered in a creek in Beaverton, left abandoned. At the age of 16, Daniel Gore faced arrest for her murder and was tried as an adult.
Li was last spotted at approximately 4 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, 2022, at her residence close to Southwest Murray and Scholls Ferry, in proximity to the location where her body was discovered at Westside Linear Park. Her family filed a missing person report the following day.
Li was in sixth grade at Conestoga Middle School.
Gore was residing at a campsite in Westside Linear Park at the time of Li’s death. Authorities took him into custody following a short pursuit on foot. A man was discovered concealed on a balcony of a nearby apartment building. When he was taken into custody, there were outstanding warrants issued by the Washington County Juvenile Court.
The inquiry uncovered unsettling aspects regarding Gore’s preferences and conduct. Court documents reveal that authorities found he had an intense fixation on a rapper called “7xvn,” whose lyrics glorify themes of violence such as “murder and strangulation.”
Authorities reported that Gore’s journal contained unsettling imagery and aggressive themes, frequently paired with phrases or symbols linked to “7xvn.”
Authorities revealed that Gore conducted multiple online searches for extremely violent content, including graphic depictions of sexual assault and videos showcasing the deaths of women, with a specific focus on strangulation and neck injuries.
Prosecutors revealed that Gore confessed to consuming alcohol and smoking marijuana, and provided Li with at least one alcoholic beverage along with marijuana on the day of her murder.
In his address to the jury, Senior Deputy District Attorney Andy Pulver characterized Gore as a deceptive figure, claiming he ensnared Milana in a misleading sense of safety prior to the tragic event.