Second Arizona teen Talyn Vigil, 17, 'ADMITTED to punching Preston Lord, 16, at ... trends now

One of the Arizona teens accused of beating Preston Lord to death reportedly confessed to being one of his attackers shortly after the murder - but was not charged for months as the parents of several suspects were accused of trying to cover up their crime.

Preston, 16, died after being brutally beaten outside a Halloween party last October and left on a road Queen Creek by multiple teens allegedly connected to the so-called 'Gilbert Goons' - a group of wealthy white kids who have been terrorizing Phoenix suburbs since as far back as 2022. 

It took five months for seven young men to be charged, all as adults, in the murder - Talan Renner, 17, Dominic Turner, 20, Talyn Vigil, 19, Taylor Sherman, 19 and Jacob Meisner, 17, William Hines, 18, and Treston Billey, 18.

But just days after the murder, a screengrab of a Snapchat chat began circulating online that appeared to be written by one Talyn Vigil, one of the teens now charged in the killing, as first reported by The Arizona Republic.

The Snapchat post read: 'I hit a kid and this kid feel hit his head and then they kicked his head in the ground then I got word he died so idk.'

After the post caught the community's attention, Talyn posted a public message on his Snapchat account that read: 'Yo I understand everyone is hurting right now and wants to find the kids that did this but you got the wrong talyn... the real kids name is talan renner. Please stop accusing me I was there I tried to help the kid off the street thank you.'

At least one other alleged attacker, Talan Renner, also admitted - and even bragged about -  beating Preston in the days after the party, writing on Snapchat: 'I got in a fight, a big group fight and I accidentally killed a kid. I guess I'm just too.'

Police records allege one unnamed boy danced on the dying teen's body shortly after the beating, while others performed 'humping' - simulated rape acts - to further degrade their victim. 

The millionaire gym owners' son is also said to have shown a video of the fatal beating he'd recorded on his phone to friends while declaring: 'Oh, I put this kid on life support.' 

Despite the suspects' name being an open secret in the community, as well as dozens of young witnesses of the attack at the party, police did not make any announcements on Preston's case for months. 

Frustrated by what they saw as negligence by authorities, the Gilbert community began speaking up online and sharing details of what happened the night of the murder, demanding the killers were held accountable.

They began holding vigils and protests calling for justice, with Kristine Brennan and Angela Rogers creating a forum they named 'Lily Waterfield' where they would post updates and go after the now-official suspects and their parents.

Through the process, they connected violent incidents tied to the Goons and narrowed in on what they say is the their modus operandi. Brennan said the teen assailants seem to follow the same pattern, meeting up at gas stations or fast food restaurants before targeting a young man and filming the assault.

Suspects Jacob Meisner and William Hines were already in custody when they were charged for Preston's murder over other attacks on teens. 

Hines is also accused three aggravated assault cases - an attack outside an In-N-Out restaurant, an attack at a house party, and for using a car to hit somebody. Meanwhile Meisner is accused of being part of an attack at a Gilbert house party in 2022 and an attack at a Mesa park in 2023. 

'We have started calling this Organized Bullying - groups of kids who can act out with impunity because there is a larger group that helps them,' said Rogers who alongside Brennan has been leading the movement to demand justice for Preston - with his family's blessing.

'[The Goons] ruined this community because they think they can do whatever they want.

The months police spent investigating Preston's murder allowed the parents of suspect Talan Renner to attempt a cover up that included taking him out of town for his towns to heal, according to prosecutors and to Ashley Reynolds, a former employee of Renner's father Travis at his media company, Relentless Media Agency.

Reynolds told The Arizona Republic Travis and his business partner Adam Kifer were working on a cover up within days of the murder and openly discussed their plans to hide evidence and shift blame on another boy with a 'similar name.'

'They talked about how they would never [go to the police]

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