New York: Body-building fireman acquitted of attacking trans partner
A Manhattan jury has acquitted a New York City firefighter of several assault charges brought against him by his transgender ex-girlfriend – and in a twist to the story is now dating another transgender woman who herself was cleared of a fatal strangulation charge.
29-year old Taylor Murphy – a body builder who once posed as Mr March in a firefighter calendar – was arrested after his then-girlfriend Claudia Charriez accused him of strangling her in August 2011.
Charriez, 31, an escort, previously had a short stint on the reality show America’s Next Top Model in 2006.
She was kicked off the show after revealing she was born male.
During the trial, Charriez admitted that she still loved her ex-partner.
Jurors only had a photograph of a small pale pink blotch on Charriez’s neck as evidence of any crime.
The jury pronounced Murphy not guilty of felony strangulation, a charge that could have landed him in jail for up to seven years.
However, he was convicted of one felony count of criminal contempt for violating an order of protection.
He had contacted Charriez more than one thousand times through phone calls, e-mails, and text messages during the five month period following his arrest.
Meanwhile, Wanda Batista, 32, who is Murphy’s current transgender partner, was acquitted in 2004 over the killing of Paola Matos – a transgender woman in Brooklyn.
