The Murder of KC Haggard (SOLVED)

On July 23, 2015 a transgender woman was found dead on Blackstone Avenue in Fresno, California. The woman was sixty-six-year-old recently out, KC Haggard (or Casey). This is a story we in the trans community don't often hear about-an elderly trans victim; usually the victims are younger and started transitioning earlier. Today Trans True Crime profiles KC's case.

KC's murder by stabbing was solved rather quickly when a security camera at a nearby tattoo shop caught her murder on camera. Haggard was seen on camera getting into an SUV, driven by a man named Richard Joseph Lopez. It is believed that Richard was looking for a prostitute for sex when he encountered KC, an intoxicated Lopez assumed KC was female until he got a closer look; stabbing her to death out of rage. Richard is shown on tape to stab Haggard in the throat before she gets out of the car; stumbling a few feet before collapsing.

Detectives traced the silver SUV in the video to a man in Oregon. Upon questioning the man, he revealed he sold the car to Lopez and was cleared of any wrongdoing. Investigators tracked down another man, Refugio Cedillo, who cleaned the car after KC's murder but he was not charged and ultimately passed away in a motorcycle crash that December.

In February 2018, more than two years after the murder, police charged Richard Lopez for the murder of KC Haggard while Lopez was already in prison serving a three year sentence for stealing an elderly couple's truck in November 2017. It was reported that the couple took him in to feed him on a snowy night. It is unclear if Richard will receive a hate crime charge in KC's death.

NOTE: Since KC was recently out, she doesn't have any pictures of her as a woman. All I could find is one booking photo of her as male. There are reports that she set up a Facebook page with her dressed as female in her pictures; however I cannot find these at the moment. If I find them in the future, I'll add them here. The only picture I'll add to this post is a portrait of Haggard.

The Murder of Shade Schuler (UNSOLVED)

Shade Schuler was a transgender woman who was murdered on July 29, 2015 in Texas. It is unknown where she was killed; however her body was found in a field off of Riverside Drive in Dallas, in the north-eastern part of the city.

Her body was so badly decomposed that it took police two weeks to identify her. It was reported that Schuler was a known prostitute and that the area she was found in was an area that she frequented. Not much is known about Shade's case and police have not revealed very much about her or her case at all.

NOTE: I normally post pictures of the victims; however the only ones I can find of Shade are a booking photo or pictures where her face is covered. The only instances where I will post a booking photo is when there are no other pictures of the victim. Other articles have the pictures of Schuler with her face partially covered with her cellphone. I won't post those because I feel it takes away from the victim by not showing what their face looked like.

The Murder of Amber Monroe (UNSOLVED)

"Amber was a very fun and loving person. She believed in giving to the community." says Essie Jones, aunt to the late Amber Monroe, a twenty-year-old transgender activist from Detroit, Michigan.

Amber was enrolled in college, was a member of numerous transjustice awareness groups, and interned at the Ruth Ellis Center in Highland Park, an organization that focuses on young members of the LGBTQ community.

"I knew she had a lot of obstacles to face. I do believe in my heart she was murdered because of her choice." says Jones, believing someone murdered Amber because she was transgender.

Police have released details of the last images of Monroe alive, on surveillance video. The video goes as follows: a car was seen pulling into an intersection, Amber stops the car to get out, she stepped out of the car and began walking away when she was shot. This happened on August 8, 2015 at around 5:00 AM on Woodward and Dakota near Palmer Park.

It is unknown who was driving the car, details of the car, or what issue may have taken place for the driver or possibly another passenger to shoot Amber.

The Murder of Kandis Capri (UNSOLVED)

"Kandis was who you called the queen bee; she kept it real at all times. There will never be another Kandis Capri." says Joyde Brown, a close friend of Kandis' who considered her like a sister.

Kandis was a transgender woman who was murdered by gunshot wounds outside of an apartment complex, where she was staying with a friend, on August 11, 2015 in Phoenix, Arizona. Capri began transitioning from male-to-female in 2012, not having acceptance from her mother at first but she eventually came around saying "Initially I was against it, but eventually I determined that was my child, and I still loved him, and I accepted him as he was."

Kandis was taking classes at South Mountain Community College and was close with family and friends, with them saying "She was kind and a vivacious personality."

During the investigation detectives uncovered footage of Capri and an unidentified man at a gas-station, they believe the unknown male to be involved with her death. Kandis is seen on camera about to enter the glass door of the gas-station when she was approached by the unknown male, glanced at him, then turned and walked away. The man then moves out of frame. He is described as a black male, early to mid-twenties and was seen in the video wearing a baseball cap and a number twenty-three Chicago Bulls jersey.

Capri's last moments leading up to her murder were described as on Tuesday August 11, 2015 at 11:30 PM, Kandis worried that a car she had been renting was either being towed or was about to be towed, so she left her roommate's apartment to check on her car. Shortly after she was shot three to four times in the front and back of her body. She was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. At 5:30 the following morning, Capri's mother was notified by police that Kandis was murdered. Capri's mother, Andria Gaines has suspected that her daughter's murder has been a hate crime ever since; however no leads have come from police video of the suspect, so the reasonings for the murder remain unknown.

The Murder of Elisha Walker (SOLVED)

Elisha Walker was a transgender woman who went missing from Salisbury, North Carolina on October 30, 2014. Elisha kept in contact with her family through: text, phone calls, and social media, however they had not heard from her since October 23 of that year.

Walker was in a "six month to eight month" relationship with Angel Arias, a member of the Latin Kings gang. She was living on Celebration Drive, but according to police reports, frequently visited a home on Hemlock Drive, later shown to be the address in which Angel was living. On November 22, 2014 Elisha's 2000 Silver Pontiac was found burned in a field in Sampson County, East of Fayetteville.

From the car fire, investigators were able to determine Arias to be a suspect in the case. Upon questioning him, they discovered that he had moved from the Hemlock Drive address and returned to Johnston County. While in questioning, Angel admitted to murdering Walker in his previous home on Hemlock Drive. His reasoning for doing so was to "hide his relationship" with Elisha from family and friends, as he tried to break up with her; but she was insistent upon seeing him. Most likely in an argument, Arias killed Walker by asphyxiation and blunt-force trauma to the head, along with stab wounds.

In July of 2015 Rowan County detectives, with the use of a cadaver dog searched Arias' previous Hemlock Drive residence for Elisha's remains but didn't recover them. They continued searching in Johnston County, while Angel was being held in that county's jail on unrelated drug charges. Investigators located an area of interest as to where her remains may have been. The area was a shallow grave behind a house on Homestead Lane, outside Smithfield.

Angel was plead guilty; being charged with a lesser offense of second-degree murder in dismissal of the court charging him for another crime of stealing a motor vehicle. Angel Arias was sentenced to nineteen to twenty-four years in prison.

My own personal belief is that Elisha was an out and proud transgender woman who wanted more than to be a secret or have a "secret relationship" with Angel. Angel, being presumed as heterosexual by the people who knew him, feared he would be called "gay" by those who didn't understand, so he felt embarrassed and insecure; opting to kill Walker instead of being honest with others as to who he is.

The Murder of Tamara Dominguez (SOLVED)

Tamara Dominguez was a Mexican-American transgender woman who was murdered on August 15, 2015 in Kansas City, Missouri. Originally from Veracruz, Mexico, Tamara came to The United States to escape discrimination against her gender identity; living quietly in the States for seven years until she was intentionally hit by an SUV, then ran back over three times.

It is unknown if the murder is a hate crime, or how the driver, Luis M. Sanchez and the victim knew each other. Luis is a twenty-nine-year-old man from Kansas City. Reports say a witness saw Dominguez get out of a vehicle matching the description of Luis', a black Chevrolet Avalanche. The witness said Tamara slammed the door before walking off. The witness heard a bump, as if it impacted the victim and was running over her. The SUV then backed up and ran over her again and again. The description of the vehicle was released to the public; helping tips come in; leading police to Sanchez's SUV. When inspecting the SUV, investigators found Tamara's blood under the chassis.

After Sanchez's vehicle was seized, he quit showing up for work at his construction job; fleeing to Colorado. Charges were filed against Luis under seal on April 15, 2016 and a warrant was issued for his arrest. The charges were then unsealed after his arrest in Colorado. His bond was set at two-hundred fifty thousand dollars.

My own personal belief about the murder is that Tamara was working as a prostitute when picked up by Luis. Dominguez, most likely pre-operative told Luis that she was, which he may have made rude comments about. He let her out, to which she slammed his door, angry that he wasn't interested in her. To get revenge, Sanchez ran Tamara over. If this is true, it's silly to do because no one else was in the car, to taunt him, make fun of him, etc. So what was the point in taking her life? He could have just let her out and moved on, but he maybe thought he could get away with "the perfect crime"? Either way, he was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. No sentencing information has been released yet.

The Murder of Lashay Mclean (UNSOLVED)

Lashay Mclean was a transgender woman who was shot to death on July 20, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

Lashay was found suffering from a gunshot wound on 6100 Dix Street, N.E. at 4:26 AM. She was taken to a nearby hospital, where she later died. Police announced that they were investigating a claim that two males "had some words" with Lashay in an alley shortly before she was shot. Mclean was killed on a street notorious for transgender street prostitution. While friends and family reveal that Lashay was arrested in 2010 for a misdemeanor charge of solicitation for prostitution on the unit block of K Street, N.E. (another street well-known for prostitution), that it is unknown whether or not the crime is related to the sex industry.