Chilling Facebook post may lead to killer of trans woman found in burned out car
Bee Love Slater was at least the 18th trans person to be killed in the US this year. (Facebook)
Police investigating the death of black trans woman Bee Love Slater were led to a person of interest by a chilling Facebook post.
The post – which has since been deleted – was written by James Richemond and simply read: “Somebody need to kill B-Love,” reports ABC13.
Richemond was named this week by investigators as a person of interest in the case. He has not yet been formally named as a suspect.
Investigators also intend to question Richemond about the death of Jamal Hubert who was found dead in a canal earlier this year.
Local reports suggest that Richemond – who is 29-years-old – may be on the run from police.
The body of black trans woman Bee Love Slater was found burned in a car earlier this month.
The chilling Facebook post was unearthed just weeks after Slater’s body was found burned in an abandoned car in Clewiston, Florida.
Police revealed earlier this week that Richemond had sent Slater threatening messages before she was found dead, The New York Times reports.
She loved to be around people and meeting new people too because of her new lifestyle that she transitioned into.
Meanwhile, Sheriff Whiddon, who is investigating Slater’s death, said they are not calling her death a hate crime just yet, but said the investigation is “kind of leading toward that way”.
Slater – whose body was found on September 4 – became the 18th transgender person and the 17th black trans woman known to have been killed in the United States so far this year. Her friends told local news outlets that they believe she was targeted for her gender identity.
Bee Love Slater ‘knew someone wanted to harm her’.
“She was a real people person,” Desmond Vereen told local news station NBC2.
“She loved to be around people and meeting new people too because of her new lifestyle that she transitioned into.”
Another friend, Kenard Wade, told WINK News that Slater “knew someone wanted to harm her, and she wanted to get away”.
Wade said that he was sure Slater was the victim as soon as he saw photos of the crime scene, although it took the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office until September 6 to publicly name her.
Trans people – particularly trans women of colour – can face disproportionate levels of violence. Just last week, a Latina trans woman was reportedly shot multiple times by a truck driver in Dallas. Local reports suggest that the man shouted transphobic slurs at her before opening fire.
