Preston Lord murder: Teen accused of fatally beating Arizona boy texted ‘killed a kid’ to friends after crime
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
QUEEN CREEK, ARIZONA: New details about the death of 16-year-old Preston Lord—who was allegedly killed by several people over stealing his friend's gold chain—were revealed in documents from the Arizona police.
Jacob Meisner, 17, Talan Renner, 17, Taylor Sherman, 19, Dominic Turner, 20, William Owen Hines, 18, and Talyn Vigil, 17, are accused of murder, robbery, and kidnapping.
The same charges also apply to an 18-year-old suspect named Treston Billey. Lord died two days after the vicious attack that occurred outside of a Halloween party in Queen Creek, Arizona, the previous year.
Preston Lord's alleged killer texted 'killed a kid' to friends
Prior to the attack, none of the seven defendants knew Preston Lord. The gathering, which included hundreds of teenagers and alcohol, was described by investigators as chaotic.
Two adults claimed that although they knew their daughter was throwing a party, they were unaware of its size and were only made aware of it when there was a disturbance outside.
Lord was found unconscious with facial and head injuries by the time the police arrived.
The evidence that investigators gathered to support the arrests was made public this week in a 1,100-page police report published by the Queen Creek Police Department.
According to the reports, on October 28, 2023, Renner sent a text message mentioning the fight. The text read, “Got in a fight…killed a kid..guess I don’t know my own strength.”
Later, Vigil is said to have sent a private Snapchat message accusing him of being responsible for Lord's demise. “I hit a kid and this kid feel hit his head and then they kicked his head in the ground then I got word died so idk,” he wrote.
Sherman sent another text message after the altercation, though the report's investigators did not say who was the recipient of the message. “Talan killed someone with his hands…Bro that kid died,” Sherman wrote, according to police. Sherman allegedly received a message from an unidentified individual mentioning a $10,000 reward for an incriminating video of the fight.
The text read, “Yo tell me you didn’t delete the video of the dead kid. It’s 10k if you give to the popo.”
After the attack, Renner's father, Travis Renner, supposedly had plans to take his son to a cabin so that his injuries from the attack could heal.
According to the Daily Mail, investigators also discovered that the Renner family possesses the "financial means to aid in fleeing to Mexico."
Residents became enraged when investigators took several months to identify the suspects. A few of them asserted that the boys' powerful families were impeding the administration of justice.
Talan Renner's parents expressed gratitude for community cooperation
Talan Renner's parents allegedly received preferential valet parking services from two Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies during a court hearing, prompting Phoenix police to issue an apology.
NBC News was able to obtain a statement from the victim's parents in March, wherein they expressed gratitude to the police for apprehending the suspects.
“But for law enforcement’s collective efforts and community members’ invaluable cooperation, these arrests would not have happened,” they said in a statement through their lawyer. “Each arrest represents a step towards accountability and justice for our son Preston,” the statement said.
In the meantime, last month at the Maricopa County Superior Court, all suspects were charged. Each of them entered a not-guilty plea.
