A 16-year-old boy has been charged for the murder of a 13-year-old girl who was found dead at a park in Oregon earlier this month.
Daniel Ryan Gore was charged with murder in the first degree in Washington County Juvenile Court on Friday morning, according to the Beaverton Police Department.
Officers previously found the body of Milana Li, a sixth-grade student at Conestoga Middle School, in a small stream off the Westside Regional Trail on May 10. An autopsy of the victim’s body found Li to have died in a homicide.
Prior to the murder of Li, Gore was on probation for second-degree theft, second-degree arson and second-degree criminal mischief. Gore’s criminal history includes trying to set a movie theater on fire as well as damaging and stealing from a theater on two other occasions.
Gore violated his probation in February after stealing a sport coat and a jacket. While the Washington County District Attorney’s office recommended Gore to be held in a detention center, he was released to his family in Salem instead upon the recommendation of the Washington County Juvenile Department.
Two weeks after his release, Gore reportedly ran away. His father informed the Juvenile Department on April 4 that his son was likely staying in the Progress Ridge area of Beaverton. The Beaverton police and the Washington County District Attorney’s Office were reportedly not notified by the Juvenile Department.
Li was last seen at her family’s apartment near Southwest Murray Boulevard and Southwest Scholls Ferry Road at around 4 p.m. on May 8 before her mother reported her disappearance at around 1 p.m. the next day. The circumstances of her death remain unclear. Reports have not determined how Li died and if Li knew Gore.
The 16-year-old juvenile has not entered a plea for the murder of Li. He will remain in custody until his next court appearance on June 3.
