Post by Ayla on Mar 15, 2016 12:00:23 GMT 8
www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/03/post_96.html
A Mississippi man has admitted to killing an Alabama transgender teen last year, according to a news report.
Joshua Vallum, a member of the Latin Kings gang, was charged with murder of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson and has admitted to killing her, the Sun Herald reported.
Williamson, who was from Theodore, was dating Vallum.
According to an affidavit obtained by the Sun Herald, Vallum beat Williamson to death with a hammer behind his father's home in George County, Mississippi. He later buried her body in a shallow grave on the property.
George County Sheriff's Department Investigator Ben Brown said that the department was looking into motives for the murder, including if it was gang-related, drug-related, or a hate crime.
"We are investigating it as a homicide....like we do any other case," he said.
Vallum, 28, has written to the judge in the case asking for a reduction in his $1 million bond. He said that he would like "a bond of a reasonable amount so that I will be allowed to better prepare myself for trial, sentencing, and incarceration."
While the exact date of the murder is not known, the indictment stated that Williamson died between May 30 and June 2 of last year.
Williamson's death was nationally recognized by Caitlyn Jenner at last year's ESPY Awards.
"They're getting bullied, they're getting beaten up, they're getting murdered and they're committing suicide. The numbers that you just heard before are staggering, but they are the reality of what it is like to be trans today... Just last month, the body of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson, a transgender young woman of color, was found in a field in Mississippi stabbed to death," she said.
Early reports said that the teen was stabbed, but police now know that she was beaten.
Mississippi's law on hate crimes does not include the reason of sexual orientation, but federal law does.
A Mississippi man has admitted to killing an Alabama transgender teen last year, according to a news report.
Joshua Vallum, a member of the Latin Kings gang, was charged with murder of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson and has admitted to killing her, the Sun Herald reported.
Williamson, who was from Theodore, was dating Vallum.
According to an affidavit obtained by the Sun Herald, Vallum beat Williamson to death with a hammer behind his father's home in George County, Mississippi. He later buried her body in a shallow grave on the property.
George County Sheriff's Department Investigator Ben Brown said that the department was looking into motives for the murder, including if it was gang-related, drug-related, or a hate crime.
"We are investigating it as a homicide....like we do any other case," he said.
Vallum, 28, has written to the judge in the case asking for a reduction in his $1 million bond. He said that he would like "a bond of a reasonable amount so that I will be allowed to better prepare myself for trial, sentencing, and incarceration."
While the exact date of the murder is not known, the indictment stated that Williamson died between May 30 and June 2 of last year.
Williamson's death was nationally recognized by Caitlyn Jenner at last year's ESPY Awards.
"They're getting bullied, they're getting beaten up, they're getting murdered and they're committing suicide. The numbers that you just heard before are staggering, but they are the reality of what it is like to be trans today... Just last month, the body of 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson, a transgender young woman of color, was found in a field in Mississippi stabbed to death," she said.
Early reports said that the teen was stabbed, but police now know that she was beaten.
Mississippi's law on hate crimes does not include the reason of sexual orientation, but federal law does.
