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In the nation’s first federal hate crime trial, a South Carolina man was found guilty on Friday (Feb. 23) of killing a Black transgender woman.
Associated Press reports it took roughly four hours for jurors to reach a verdict, convicting Daqua Lameek Ritter for the 2019 murder of Dime Doe.
Prosecutors accused Ritter of shooting his secret lover three times in the head with a .22 caliber handgun to ensure their affair remained confidential.
He was subsequently found guilty of a hate crime, obstructing justice, and using a firearm to execute the murder. Ritter is facing life without parole and awaits a sentencing date.
Over the duration of the four-day trial, the secret relationship between Doe and Ritter was centered. Prosecutors argued text messages and witness testimony verified the convicted killer became enraged as rumors of their affair intensified in the small town of Allendale. It has a population of 7,579.
Ben Garner, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina told Wis News 10,” He killed her to silence her.”
Brook Andrews, holding the same judicial position stated, “This case stands as a testament to our committed effort to fight violence that is targeted against those who may identify as a member of the opposite sex, for their sexual orientation or for any other protected characteristics”.
Although this case is historic, it isn’t the first hate crime based on gender identity that federal officials have prosecuted — the others just never reached trial.
A Mississippi man was convicted after confessing to the murder of a 17-year-old transgender woman in 2017. Upon accepting a plea deal, he was sentenced to 49 years in prison.
Ritter’s defense was shaky as he claimed he did not see Dime Doe the day she was found deceased but police body cam footage told a different story. A video of a mid-afternoon traffic stop showed Doe and the left wrist of a person in the reclined passenger seat adorning a tattoo identical to Ritter’s. Only a few hours later her body appeared slumped in the same car parked in a driveway.
Defense attorney Lindsey Vann asserted there was no physical evidence linking Ritter to the crime. State law enforcement failed to process a gunshot residue test he took willingly.
According to the testimony from Doe’s close friends, she didn’t shield her identity, wearing skirts and extensions after high school. Doe would discuss her relationship with Ritter and divulged they met during one of his summer vacations from New York to visit family.
Ritter, on the other hand, was tight-lipped about his rendezvous with Doe. He desired to keep their relationship under wraps, prosecutors contended. The month before she died, he would often remind Doe to delete the hundreds of text messages they exchanged from her phone.
Leading up to Doe’s death, their messages grew tense after Ritter shared that his main girlfriend, Delasia Green, discovered their secret relationship. In response, the Green reportedly called Ritter a homophobic slur before ending their relationship.
The most damaging testimony seemingly came from Kordell Jenkins, an acquaintance of Ritter. Jenkins claimed he saw the convicted killer ride off in a silver car that he had previously seen Doe driving.
Several hours later Ritter returned wearing different clothes and appeared to be “on edge”. After a fire was built to keep the mosquitos at bay, Jenkins testified Ritter dumped the contents of his bag into it. He claimed he could not see what the items were but assumed it was the outfit Ritter was wearing earlier.
In addition, Jenkins stated he ran into Ritter the following day. After spotting a small, sliver handle of a gun at his waistline, Ritter asked him to “get it gone”. Defense attorneys argued the story was fabricated by Jenkins to satisfy the prosecution.
Green, Ritter’s ex-girlfriend, testified that a few days after the murder, he appeared at her cousin’s home in Columbia. Ritter was not only dirty and smelly but he could not stop pacing. Her cousin’s boyfriend dropped him off at a bus stop and after Green inquired if he murdered Doe she stated, “He dropped his head and gave me a little smirk.”
He fled to New York. A friend, Xavier Pinckney, warned him to stay away from Allendale because the police visited him for questioning. He also messaged Ritter via Facebook claiming someone was “snitching”.
Pinckney is facing charges of obstructing justice for giving false and misleading statements to Federal officials investigating the case.
Hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community often go unpunished but Dime Doe was able to receive justice despite the odds.
