Man Sentenced to Life for Murdering Trans Woman
Daqua Lameek Ritter, who murdered Dime Doe, is the first person convicted of anti-trans violence under a federal hate crimes law.
A South Carolina man has been sentenced to life in prison for murdering a Black transgender woman with whom he was romantically involved.
Daqua Lameek Ritter was convicted on hate crime charges in February following a four-day trial for the murder of then-24-year-old Dime Doe, also known as Pebbles “LaDime” Doe, a Black transgender woman from Allendale, South Carolina.
Ritter’s conviction was the first guilty verdict for violent acts committed against a transgender person under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
Passed in 2009, the act expanded federal hate crime laws to include incidents of violence against people based on their gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability status.
While other individuals had been prosecuted for crimes motivated by anti-transgender animus, none ever went to trial.
At trial, prosecutors presented evidence showing that Ritter had been involved in a sexual relationship with Doe, and became upset after rumors of their affair began to circulate around their hometown of Allendale, South Carolina.
Ritter’s girlfriend discovered his infidelity to her, and his relationship with Doe. The girlfriend called Ritter an anti-gay slur, which made him “extremely upset, according to prosecutors. His anger at having his relationship with Doe revealed allegedly motivated him to stop her from speaking about their relationship with friends and acquaintances.
On August 4, 2019, Ritter lured Doe to a remote area outside of Allendale, shooting her three times in the head with a .22 caliber handgun. He then burned the clothes he was wearing during the crime — in view of witnesses — disposed of the murder weapon and lied to law enforcement about his whereabouts at the time of the murder.
He then fled South Carolina and holed up in New York, with one friend, Xavier Pinckney, allegedly warning him not to return because state police were investigating the murder. Pinckney has since been charged with obstructing justice and giving false and misleading statements to police.
Subsequently, other witnesses testified at trial that Ritter had confessed to killing Doe, or that they had seen Ritter burning the clothes he had allegedly been wearing during the murder. Police and prosecutors also found video evidence of a traffic stop placing Ritter inside Doe’s car just hours before she was killed, as well as DNA evidence.
“Today’s sentencing will not bring Dime Doe back but hopefully provides a small measure of comfort to Dime’s family, loved ones and the community,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement. This sentencing sends a clear message — the Justice Department vigorously defends the civil rights of every American.”
“We want the Black trans community to know that you are seen and heard, that we stand with the LGBTQI+ community and that we will use every tool available to seek justice for victims and their families,” Clarke subsequently said, in a videotaped statement.
Doe, who grew up in South Carolina, transitioned after high school. On social media, her friends and family recounted how she had a “bright personality” and “was someone who “showed love” to everyone she met.
Doe’s mother, Debra Saab, spoke at Ritter’s sentencing hearing, telling Judge Sherri Lydon, of the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, that “every day is a struggle” without her child.
She asked that Ritter receive the maximum sentencing, saying that he “shouldn’t get to see the light of day,” reports Charleston-based ABC affiliate WCIV.
Fatal violence against transgender people has been on the rise in recent years, according to the Human Rights Campaign, which has tracked violent deaths of trans people since 2013. So far, 27 transgender people — particularly Black trans women — have been killed this year alone, HRC reports.
Additionally, anti-LGBTQ hate crimes rose more than 19% from 2021 to 2022, and subsequently by 8% from 2022 to 2023, according to the FBI’s annual hate crime report released last year.
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