‘When he snaps, he snaps’: New details emerge of teen who allegedly fatally beat 16-year-old, he reportedly bragged, ‘I’m just too strong’
New details have surfaced in the investigation of an Arizona teen who was one of several teenagers who reportedly beat a 16-year-old to death at a Halloween party last year. The ex-girlfriend of the boy’s father and social media messages reportedly revealed the seemingly conscienceless killing of a teen.
Talan Renner, 17, faces charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping in the October attack on 16-year-old Preston Lord. Renner is one of seven young men – known as the “Gilbert Goons – charged in the brutal beating death of Lord.
On Oct. 28, Lord was viciously attacked at a Halloween party. The teen was found critically injured outside Phoenix, Arizona. Lord died from his extensive injuries at a hospital on Oct. 30.
Renner allegedly bragged about the deadly beatdown of a 16-year-old. The Arizona high school football player is also accused of being hidden away by his family following the fatal attack on Lord.
Investigators claim that days after the fatal beating, Renner’s father whisked the teen suspect to the family’s $850,000 cabin in Show Low — three hours away from his home.
The ex-girlfriend of the suspect’s father, Travis Renner, told law enforcement that the alleged attacker’s jaw was swollen days after the beating.
Arizona Family reported, “The woman described Talan as an ‘angry kid’ and a ‘fighter.’ She said he ‘holds in a lot of aggression,’ and ‘when he snaps, he snaps.'”
She allegedly added that Talan is muscular and “full of rage.”
The ex-girlfriend noted that Talan can be “misunderstood.”
However, Talan allegedly sent incriminating text messages to a friend.
“I got in a fight, a big group fight, and I accidentally killed a kid. I guess I’m just too strong,” Renner allegedly wrote in a Snapchat message, according to police.
The teen repeatedly said his alleged victim would need a “closed casket” funeral because of how brutally he beat him.
Another suspect in the fatal beating, 17-year-old Talyn Vigil, allegedly admitted to killing Lord.
Vigil reportedly wrote to a friend on Snapchat, “I hit a kid and this kid hit his head. And then they kicked his head in the ground and then I got word he died so idk.”
Renner – along with the other six accused attackers – were held on a $1 million bond. They all have pleaded not guilty in the killing of Lord.
The seven alleged suspects have reportedly referred to themselves as the “Gilbert Goons.”
The suspects are Renner, Vigil, Jacob Meisner, William Owen Hines, Taylor Sherman, and Dominic Turner.
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Suspect in Preston Lord death tried to conceal injuries police say
