According to his father, 14-year-old Kimahri Blevins was not raised to have “murder on his heart.”
That’s not a phrase the teen’s dad thought he’d ever have to say, but his son now faces a premeditated murder charge.
A Santa Rosa County grand jury indicted Blevins and his 16-year-old friend Gabriel Williams with the first-degree premeditated murder of 14-year-old Danika Troy after the two allegedly lured her into a wooded area in Pace Nov. 30, fatally shot her multiple times, doused her in gasoline and lit her body on fire.
“Kimahri is a nerd, first and foremost,” Shaun Blevins told the News Journal. “We play chess in this family, we play videogames in this family, we are nerds in this way.
“There’s people I haven’t spoken with in 10 or 20 years who know only me, (and) they’re like, ‘Not big Shaun’s kid,'” he added. “They know that the person that I am is not going to create that.”
Although Kimahri Blevins is 14 years old, his father says he suffers from a developmental learning disorder that gives him the mental age of a 12-year-old, which is why he was attending High Road School of Santa Rosa, a school designed to nurture students with academic, emotional and behavioral needs.
Saying his son is a “late bloomer” and often “oblivious” to situations around him, Shaun says Kimahri’s mental acuity leads him to believe his son was not as complicit in Troy’s death as law enforcement believes, despite Williams’ allegedly claiming the teen helped gather supplies the night of the incident.
Documents shown to the News Journal indicate Williams told investigators that Blevins not only brought the gas cans to the wooded area the night of Nov. 30, but that he was the one who allegedly began to shoot Troy first, prior to Williams firing shots.
Shaun Blevins said that the evidence prosecutors have shown thus far indicate, in his mind, that there was only one shooter, and he told the News Journal that “it’s possible Kimahri had a gun to his head being told to help.”
“He would not have knowingly done that. That’s not within his character,” Shaun said. “He’s not about to show that degree of cowardice. That’s not how he was raised.”
In photos presented during Kimahri Blevins’ pretrial detention hearing, the firearm thought to be the murder weapon was found in a tote underneath Williams’ bed while Santa Rosa deputies were executing a search warrant.
Although Shaun Blevins supports his son, he expressed empathy for Troy’s family and said he does in some way feel blessed to still have his son alive.
“Kimahri told me Danika was like his sister. Now her mother can’t see her daughter anymore, and it’s real sad,” he said.
“Kimahri’s not going to kill a girl,” Shaun Blevins said. “He’s the type of kid to stand up for someone else. That’s the type of kid he is.
“Even if he did do this,” he said, speaking hypothetically, “he’s my son, and I’ll still be right there with him. I wish daddy could save him.”
Kimahri Blevins was denied bond during a hearing Dec. 22. After his attorney waived his arraignment scheduled for Jan. 8, according to court records, the teen is next scheduled to appear in court Feb. 3, 2026.
This story has been updated to add information.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Dad of teen indicted in Danika Troy death said murder ‘not within his character’
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
