A 16-year-old boy charged with killing a missing 13-year-old Beaverton girl in May pleaded not guilty Friday to additional charges that he raped the girl before killing her, then moved her body from the scene.
Daniel Ryan Gore appeared via video conference in Washington County Circuit Court. Through his attorney, Gore pleaded not guilty to seven charges – two counts of first-degree murder, first- and second-degree rape, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse and second-degree abuse of a corpse.
The multiple counts of the same charges offer alternative theories for how the alleged crimes occurred, prosecutors said, but they didn’t offer any details in court or answer questions afterward about how Li died.
Gore is accused of sexually abusing and raping Milana Li, then killing her and moving her body from where she died.
Li’s body was found in a small stream by a trail May 10, two days after going missing from her family’s home in Southwest Beaverton. Investigators have not said whether Gore knew Li or how Li died.
Li attended Conestoga Middle School. Family and friends described her as warm, gentle and kind. A GoFundMe for the Li family had raised more than $45,000 as of Friday afternoon.
Gore did not speak during the hearing. His parents and Li’s parents appeared separately via video conference.
Washington County Circuit Court Judge Erik Bucher will decide after a hearing in April whether to try Gore as an adult, as was requested by the state.
If found guilty and Gore remains in Juvenile Court, he would be released from Oregon Youth Authority custody no later than age 25.
A first-degree murder conviction in adult court carries a minimum sentence of 30 years in prison, but juveniles waived to adult court and convicted can seek parole after 15 years.
Gore is being held at the Donald E. Long Juvenile Detention Center in Portland.
At a May detention review, Deputy District Attorney Dustin Staten said Gore had a criminal history stretching back to fall 2020, when he and another juvenile tried to set a movie theater on fire. On two other occasions, Gore and a co-defendant went into a movie theater to damage and steal from it, Staten said in court.
He is scheduled to appear for another detention review hearing Aug. 12.
— Catalina Gaitán; @catalinagaitan_
