Maryland man sentenced to 48 years for murder of transgender woman Taya Ashton

A Maryland man who killed an intimate partner after learning she was transgender has been sentenced to 48 years in prison.

DeAllen Price, 29, was sentenced January 10 for the 2021 murder of 20-year-old Taya Ashton, Prince George’s County, Md., prosecutors announced Wednesday, the Washington Blade reports. Ashton was shot to death July 17, 2021, in her apartment in Suitland, Md. Price pleaded guilty in October to second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He had been arrested about a week after Ashton’s death and had been jailed aever since.

The motivation behind the killing was not confirmed until the sentencing, prosecutors said in a press conference. “We didn’t have any definitive evidence to show that until sentencing,” Assistant State’s Attorney Sherrie Waldrup said, adding, “And when it came time for the sentencing, the defendant did offer that clarity, if you will, as to why this happened.”

“He spoke at sentencing and told the court that he was engaged in an intimate relationship with Taya,” Waldrup said. “And that evening was when he first learned that Taya was not born a female. And in response to that he reacted and shot her.”

“That was just a chilling thing to hear,” she continued. “It’s horrifying, it’s unacceptable. It is certainly not an excuse or justification for what happened to Taya.”

“Taya was somebody who was loved by her family. ... She loved her family immensely,” Waldrup noted. “Taya was somebody who, although being part of what some may consider a marginalized community, was not marginalized in how she interacted with Prince George’s County.”

State’s Attorney Aisha Braveboy added, “So, today, what we want to send is the message that regardless of how someone wants to live or chooses to live, because this is a free country.”

“People can live how they want to live, and that does not give an individual the right to commit violence against them or to take their life, period. End of story,” she said. “And when they choose violence, we will hold them accountable. And today, and now, Mr. Price has been held accountable.”

Price and his attorney did not try to invoke a “trans panic” defense, which is illegal in Maryland, but did suggest the shooting was unintentional, which prosecutors did not find credible.

About half of the trans women who died by violence between 2015 and 2020 were killed by an intimate partner, according to a Washington Postanalysis.

Pictured: Taya Ashton and DeAllen Price