Man Arrested for Murdering His Transgender Roommate!
A 31-year-old man has been arrested in the fatal stabbing of his roommate, a transgender woman who police found bleeding on a sidewalk outside the abandoned Philadelphia building they shared, local reports said.
It's believed Raheam Felton repeatedly stabbed Londyn Kiki Chanel, 21, in the neck and back during a fight over what authorities described as domestic matters - not because she was a transgender woman, according to the Philadelphia Gay News.
Felton, who has prior felony convictions of aggravated assault, prostitution and burglary, shared the apartment in the 2200 block of Ingersoll Street with Chanel and another transgender woman, Philly.com reported.
In an apparent attempt to save her life, Felton carried Chanel downstairs and flagged down help from a police officer with the Philadelphia School District outside the decripid, graffiti-covered building and gave her CPR until paramedics could arrive, but Chanel died within minutes at a local hospital early Monday.
Philadelphia authorities initially identified Chanel as Victoria, Texas native London Banks, but her friends revealed she was born a male and identified as a woman.
After moving to Philly, Chanel spent several years living at a youth shelter and crisis center before attempting to reconcile with her family, WCAU-TV reported.
”She was going to come home," Chanel's mother, Veronica Allen, told the TV station. “That’s what we were working towards, but that man took it away from me."
The brutal weekend killing marks Chanel’s death the eighth transgender person of color to die this year under homicidal circumstances, according to the Anti-Violence Project.
Her death follows the killing of Papi Edwards, Lamia Beard, Ty Underwood, Yazmin Vash Payne, Taja Gabrielle de Jesus, Penny Proud and Kristina Gomez Reinwald, all killed under what the nonprofit describes as a growing trend of violence against transgender women.
A candlelight vigil in memory of Chanel is scheduled for Friday outside the abandoned building where she was killed.
Felton faces murder and weapon charges in Chanel’s death.
So sad May she R.I.P!
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