Crime News
Dallas police search for link between 3 transgender murder assaults
The Dallas Police Department is searching for a link between three separate assaults or murders that have occurred in the past three years, all of which involve victims who are transgender females.
Their search comes after Muhlaysia Booker, a 23-year-old transgender woman, was found murdered on May 18. She was found in the 7200 block of Valley Glen Drive at around 6:40 am near the Tenison Park Golf Course.
Booker received national attention after she was beaten on April 12 following a car accident; the beating was caught on video. Edward Thomas was arrested on April 15 for his role in the attack.
In a press conference on May 21, Dallas Police Major Vincent Weddington of the Crimes Against Persons Department stated that two other transgender women have been assaulted or killed, and that the three crimes had certain elements in common: an intersection in South Dallas, and circumstances.
"Two were in the same location, and in both cases, these victims either got into a car with someone or one victim allowed someone inside their car," Weddington said. "We have not established a link but as part of our LGBTQ outreach, we'll hold a town hall meeting on May 23 at the Resource Center at 5750 Cedar Springs Rd., and the department is asking for public descriptions to help close these cases."
Weddington said that the first case was also a homicide.
"We have a transgender woman who was killed at 7100 Valley Glen Drive, and a second who was stabbed multiple times but that victim survived," he said. "The third case was Muhlaysia Booker."
According to Weddington, the first case took place in July 2017, when a transgender female's remains were found in a field.
"In that case, it was undetermined how the death occurred," he said.
In October 2018, a second transgender woman got into a car and was stabbed. Weddington said she was able to offer information about her attacker.
"He was described as a black male, a large black male, driving a car that was silver or gray in color," he said. "We're working with that victim to get as much information as possible."
The commonality of the three cases was the location, Weddington said.
"I can say with certainty there is a nexus between the corner of Spring Avenue and Lagow Street on two of the offenses that have occurred," he said. "That's the location that immediately preceded two of the events. The department is actively looking into whether these assaults and murders have any connection to one another."
