Their
line
of
work
may
not
have
been
the
direct
cause
of
their
deaths,
police
say.
But
investigators
familiar
with
the
killings
of
seven
D.C.-area
transgendered
women
and
the
attempted
murder
of
another
since
April
2000
say
the
victims
in
at
least
six
of
those
cases
are
believed
to
have
engaged
in
street
prostitution
at
the
time
of
their
killings.
“As
far
as
these
cases
are
concerned,
we’re
not
investigating
prostitution,
we’re
investigating
homicides,”
said
Sgt.
Brett
Parson,
commander
of
the
D.C.
police
department’s
Gay
&
Lesbian
Liaison
Unit.
Yet
law
enforcement
sources
say
people
who
knew
the
victims
have
told
investigators
that
six
of
the
victims
regularly
or
occasionally
hung
out
in
sections
of
the
city
where
transgendered
women
solicit
money
for
sex.
At
least
three
of
the
women
frequented
the
corner
of
5th
and
K
Streets,
NW,
the
District’s
best-known
location
for
picking
up
transgendered
prostitutes,
according
to
police.
One
of
the
cases
that
drew
media
attention
to
the
prostitution
angle
was
the
Aug.
16
killing
of
Bella
Evangelista,
25,
who
was
shot
to
death
about
4:30
a.m.
at
the
corner
of
Allison
Street
and
Arkansas
Ave.
NW.
Police
say
Hispanic
male-to-female
transgendered
sex
workers
solicit
business
in
that
location.
Evangelista,
whose
birth
name
was
Elvys
Augusto
Perez,
was
shot
by
a
man
who
allegedly
paid
her
for
sex
and
became
enraged
when
he
learned
a
short
time
later
that
she
was
a
biological
male,
police
said.
Police
charged
Antoine
D.
Jacobs,
22,
with
first-degree
murder
while
armed
in
connection
with
the
shooting.
Authorities
classified
the
case
as
a
hate
crime.
Evangelista’s
killing
is
one
of
just
three
of
the
recent
transgender
cases
where
police
have
made
an
arrest.
The
others
remain
unsolved.
Parson,
who
has
helped
investigate
most
of
the
recent
transgender
deaths,
acknowledged
that
the
victims’
possible
involvement
in
prostitution
—
as
well
as
their
use
of
names
other
than
their
legal,
birth
names
—
make
it
difficult
for
investigators
to
obtain
information
needed
to
identify
those
responsible
for
the
killings.
“Most
of
the
witnesses
you
talk
to
on
the
street
never
knew
their
real
names,”
Parson
said.
“Sometimes
the
victims
use
several
different
names
and
no
one
knows
exactly
how
to
spell
them.
It
makes
our
job
a
lot
harder.”
Sex
worker
labels
‘unfair’
Transgender
activists
have
expressed
concern
about
news
reports
linking
these
cases
to
prostitution,
saying
they
believe
the
killers
targeted
the
victims
because
of
their
status
as
transgendered
people,
not
because
of
their
possible
role
as
sex
workers.
“We’re
talking
about
real
people
who
are
human
beings,”
said
Ruby
Bracamonte,
one
of
Evangelista’s
closest
friends.
Bracamonte
called
Evangelista
a
“warm,
loving,
and
caring
person,”
and
said
it
would
be
unfair
to
“label”
her
or
remember
her
as
a
sex
worker.
But
Bracamonte
and
Earlene
Budd,
founder
of
the
local
group
Transgender
Health
&
Empowerment,
said
widespread
discrimination
and
prejudice
against
transgendered
people
has
forced
some
transgendered
women
to
become
involved
in
commercial
sex
work
as
a
means
of
economic
survival.
During
a
press
conference
following
Evengelista’s
murder,
Budd
told
how
transgendered
women
informed
her
that
they
turned
to
prostitution
only
after
they
had
been
denied
jobs
because
of
their
appearance.
“It’s
a
matter
of
simple
survival,”
Budd
said.
“Some
of
the
girls
have
no
other
choice
but
to
turn
to
the
streets
for
survival.”
The
D.C.
Human
Rights
Act
bans
job
discrimination
based
on
an
individual’s
personal
appearance
,
gender,
dress
and
sexual
orientation,
among
other
grounds.
Gay
and
transgender
activists
have
long
concluded
that
one
or
all
of
those
categories
combined
make
it
illegal
in
D.C.
to
discriminate
against
transgendered
people.
However,
Cornelius
Alexander,
an
attorney
and
chief
hearing
examiner
for
the
D.C.
Commission
on
Human
Rights,
which
is
in
charge
of
enforcing
the
Human
Rights
Act,
said
no
transgender
discrimination
case
has
ever
reached
the
commission
for
adjudication.
Alexander
said
that
until
a
ruling
on
such
a
case
is
rendered,
it
remains
unclear
whether
the
Human
Rights
Act
actually
bans
transgender
discrimination.
Recent
D.C.
trans
killings
tied
to
prostitution
Court
records
and
information
released
by
D.C.
police
have
indicated
that
these
recent
transgender
killings,
and
one
case
of
assault
with
a
dangerous
weapon
and
attempted
murder,
are
linked
to
prostitution:
Tyra
(Tyrone)
Henderson,
22,
was
found
beaten
to
death
in
an
alley
behind
the
3600
block
of
11th
Street,
NW,
on
April
23,
2000.
Friends
told
D.C.
police
that
Henderson
was
last
seen
alive
the
previous
night
at
5th
and
K
Streets,
NW
soliciting
money
for
sex.
The
case
is
unsolved.
Carla
Natasha
(Carlton)
Hunt,
35,
was
found
shot
to
death
in
her
apartment
in
Suitland,
Md.,
on
May
15,
2000.
Prince
George’s
County
police
homicide
detectives
said
friends
informed
them
that
Hunt
also
hung
out
at
5th
&
K
Streets,
where
she
sometimes
engaged
in
sex
work,
and
that
friends
believe
her
assailant
may
have
met
her
at
that
location.
The
case
remains
unsolved.
Mimi
Kim
(Kevin)
Young,
38,
was
stabbed
to
death
on
April
9,
2003
on
a
porch
at
5500
Foote
Street,
NW.
While
testifying
as
a
witness
in
a
Prince
George’s
County
murder
trial,
Young
acknowledged
she
was
a
sex
worker
on
Eastern
Ave.,
on
the
D.C.-P.G.
County
line,
which
is
known
as
a
gathering
place
for
transgendered
sex
workers.
Police
have
charged
a
woman
with
the
killing
and
reportedly
have
issued
warrants
for
the
arrest
of
another
three
men
linked
to
the
case.
Police
sources
say
the
killing
appeared
to
be
triggered
by
a
dispute
over
drugs.
Bella
Evangelista
(Elvys
Perez),
25,
was
shot
to
death
at
Allison
St.
and
Arkansas
Ave.,
NW,
on
Aug.
16,
2003.
Police
arrested
a
...
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