Ohio man sentenced for killing beloved Cincinnati trans woman

On the morning of June 6, 2025, Laura Schueler’s body was found near the steps from her home in the Evanston neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. At a court hearing on Tuesday, almost exactly one year later, her killer was sentenced to prison for the crime.

Ajani Grimes, 19, was out on bond for armed robbery at the time of Schueler’s death, as reported by Cincinnati CBS affiliate WKRC, and was at large due to removing his electronic ankle monitor. Detectives were able to link Grimes to the crime through shell casings found at the scene of the robbery.

During the hearing, prosecutors detailed what happened the night of the crime.

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"[Grimes] invited her into his car, and he drove away," said the assistant prosecutor. Though it’s not clear what happened inside the car, but they say Schueler got out and started running. "Mr. Grimes got out of the car, pulled a weapon, and shot her in the back of the head and left her for dead there on the side of the road."

"What he did is enormously heinous and extremely gratuitous," the assistant prosecutor added.

About a month after her death, Grimes was arrested and charged with her murder. Eventually, he accepted a plea deal for a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 25 to 29 years in prison. The sentence includes time for the aggravated robbery in October 2024 and other charges. Grimes declined to address the court at the hearing.

After the sentencing, Schueler's friends and loved ones, who were involved in reaching the plea deal, expressed their grief, anger, and sadness at the senseless crime. Schueler's husband was too emotional to speak on camera, but told WKRC that the sentence was not enough.

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Schueler's grandmother told the judge that the loss is unbearable and that she had “prayed last night that justice would be served to this young man who has ruined [her] life."

"Whatever you do behind closed doors is going to come to the light, so you killing her thinking that was going to stop people from knowing you like men or transexuals — it's out there; we know what you are," said Schueler's best friend, Martez Meadows. "The last thing I want to say is I hope you rot in hell."

"Laura will never be forgotten by anyone who knew her," said Schueler's cousin, Geno Griffith. "Laura was known by many for advocacy within the LGBTQIA+ community, but those of us who loved her knew something even greater. Laura was kind. She was giving. She was compassionate. She used her voice not only for herself but also for others who often felt unseen, unheard, and unsupported. She was the person who showed up. She showed up for her family, she showed up for her friends, she showed up for our community, and she showed up for people when they needed someone to stand beside them."