Philly D.A. to investigate trans murder case

The Philadelphia district attorney's office has taken up the mysterious murder case of Nizah Morris, a transgendered woman who was bashed in the head in December, the Philadelphia Daily News reports. According to D.A. spokeswoman Cathie Abookire, the decision to investigate the case was made after the D.A.'s office was bombarded with calls from many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered citizens of Philadelphia. Morris, 47, was found lying in the street with a massive head wound on December 22 and died two days later. The medical examiner determined that she had been murdered, but police didn't classify it as a homicide for weeks. Morris had been a popular performer at the South Street Bar. The night of her attack, she was at the bar Key West. Early on December 22, she collapsed, drunk, outside the bar, police said. Police officers offered her a ride home, but she asked to be let off on a street corner, where passing motorists found her lying in the street minutes later. She died in the hospital on December 24.