Arizona teen beating death: 6 suspects charged with murder for alleged Halloween party attack

Six people have been indicted in the death of a 16-year-old Arizona boy who died after being beaten in a gang-style attack during a Halloween party last year in a Phoenix suburb, authorities said. 

On Wednesday, Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell announced charges against four people – Dominic Turner, 20, William Hines, 18, Talan Renner, and Talyn Vigil, both 17, – in the death of 16-year-old Preston Lord. 

All four are charged with felony first-degree murder and kidnapping.

“These four indictments are just the start,” Queen Creek Police Chief Randy Brice said at a news conference.

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On Thursday, Mitchell’s office subsequently announced indictments against Taylor Sherman, 19, and a 17-year-old Jacob Meisner. Both are also charged with first-degree murder and various other charges. All six suspects are in custody.

Hines was already in custody for unrelated assault cases, authorities said. The three juveniles, Meisner, Renner and Vigil, are being charged as adults, Mitchell’s office told Fox News Digital. 

Lord’s parents, Nick Lord and Autumn Curiel, said the arrests “represent a step towards accountability and justice for our son Preston,” according to a statement issued by their lawyer. 

Lord was beaten following a party in Queen Creek on Oct. 28, 2023. He was found by first responders on a roadway just before 9:50 p.m. and taken to a hospital where he died two days later. The attack shocked the community and prompted calls for more police action to combat teen violence. 

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“While there is still work to be done – and nothing will bring Preston back – the arrests in the Preston Lord homicide investigation are an essential step in the process,” Queen Creek Mayor Julia Wheatley said in a statement. “The Lord family is in my thoughts and prayers daily – and I am so thankful that we can continue to move forward in our pursuit of justice for Preston.”

A medical examiner ruled Lord’s manner of death a homicide but has not released a cause of death. 

Mitchell said her office reviewed 600 videos and a 2,000-page police report, among other evidence, to develop the case against the first four suspects. An investigative grand jury began hearing the case on Feb. 7. 

A December report by The Arizona Republic said investigators suspect Lord was killed by a gang called the “Gilbert Goons,” who recorded blitz-style attacks in parks, parking garages, outside fast-food restaurants and at house parties and posted the videos on social media.

Many of the attacks happened in the nearby city of Gilbert and ran unchecked by police for more than a year, the report said.