Transgender murder in D.C. is second in a week

The body of a transgendered woman was found early Thursday morning in a field in southeast Washington, D.C., authorities said. It was the second apparent murder of a transgendered person in the city in less than a week. The body was discovered at about 2:30 a.m. near the 2900 block of 2nd Street, S.E., spokesman Sgt. Joe Gentile said. The victim appeared to have died after suffering multiple head wounds, and the case is being investigated as a homicide. "Although it was believed the victim had been shot, the actual cause of death will be determined by the D.C. medical examiner," Gentile said. Authorities did not release the victim's name but said she was from the area. Police were also investigating the shooting of another transgendered woman that occurred at about 10 p.m. Wednesday on the 800 block of Third Street, N.W. The 24-year-old victim remained hospitalized Thursday morning, Gentile said. Police said the two incidents appear to be unrelated. The attacks come just days after another transgendered woman was killed Saturday on the 1300 block of Allison Street, N.W. Plainclothes officers heard gunshots and found the body of 25-year-old Bella Evangelista--born Elvys Perez Morales--riddled with bullets, Gentile said. Evangelista was a popular performance artist in the D.C. area. Antoine Jacobs, 22, of northwest Washington, is charged with first-degree murder while armed as well as a gender-bias hate crime. According to a police source connected to the investigation, it appears Jacobs may have paid for sexual favors from the victim and felt he had been deceived after learning of Evangelista's biological sex. The recent spate of crimes comes just days after the one-year anniversary of the killing of two transgendered teens in southeast Washington. Ukea Davis, 18, and Stephanie Thomas, 19, were shot multiple times as they sat in a car. Those killings have not been solved.