Texas Man Pleads Guilty in Murder of Trans Woman Muhlaysia Booker

Kendrell Lavar Lyles, 37, has pleaded guilty to the murder of Black transgender woman Muhlaysia Booker in Dallas in 2019, and he will be sentenced to 48 years in prison.

Lyles’s trial was set to begin Monday, but instead of going to trial, he entered the guilty plea, the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office announced to local media.

Booker, 23, was found shot to death on a Dallas street in May 2019. Her death came a month after a mob attacked her over a minor traffic accident at an apartment complex in the city. She was beaten and kicked by men shouting misogynist and antigay slurs, and one man pointed a gun at her. The attack was documented on video.

Lyles was arrested in June 2019 on the charge of killing Booker; he was already in custody on two unrelated homicides. He was not involved in the mob attack, in which one man, Edward Dominic Thomas, was convicted of misdemeanor assault.

Police connected Lyles with Booker’s death through phone records, which showed his cell phone was in the same area as hers, and his vehicle, a Lincoln LS matching the description of a vehicle in which Booker had been riding.

A Dallas court will hear victim impact statements Thursday, TV station WFAA reports.

Booker’s mother and local activists gave comments to the station after Lyles entered his plea. “No amount of time can bring Muhlaysia back, and although we wish the sentence was capital punishment, our family can finally have some sense of closure knowing that justice was served and he can’t cause any more families hurt and pain,” said Booker’s mother, Stephanie Houston.

“We hope this sentence sends a message that trans lives matter, and those who decide to do this community harm will face justice,” said Ahmad Goree, board president at the Muhlaysia Booker Foundation. “Thank you to the Dallas Police Department and their detectives for solving the case so quickly, and Dallas County District Attorney’s Office for their work to bring this case to a close.”

The foundation provides housing, advocacy, emotional support, counseling, employment resources, and training to transgender women.

Lyles is charged with two other murders in neighboring Collin County. The victims are Leticia Grant, 35, and Kenneth Cichocki, 29, both also killed in May 2019.