A 17-year-old has been charged with the murder of Dejanay Stanton, a transgender Chicagoan who was killed this past August.
The alleged assailant, Tremon Hill, faces one first-degree murder charge in the Aug. 30 episode. Stanton's body was discovered in the 4000 block of South Calumet Avenue late in the morning that day, after persons nearby said that they had heard gunshots.
According to Chicago Police, Hill was arrested the morning of Jan. 12. He was denied bail at a hearing the following day. Fox 32 reported that Hill will be charged as an adult. Stanton and Hill, who will be tried as an adult, had reportedly been engaged in a relationship for some time.
Stanton's killing was the first of two murders of transgender women in the city last year that were confirmed by authorities and community members. Rumors circulated in late December of two others, but the circumstances surrounding those deaths have not been confirmed. Should the case be closed on Stanton's murder, it would be the first murder of a transgender Chicagoan that has been solved in about 20 years.
Update: An earlier version of this story indicated that Hill's name would not be released due to his age. Fox 32's story is at www.fox32chicago.com/news/local/teen-charged-with-murder-of-transgender-woman .