Man convicted in murder of Chrissy Bates
Arnold Waukazo was convicted of second degree murder last week in the stabbing death of Krissy Bates. Bates was a transgender woman living in downtown Minneapolis who was killed in January of this year.
OutFront Minnesota shares some information from the trial:
Waukazo waived his right to a jury trial and Hennepin County District Judge Allen Oleisky presented the verdict today.
Defense counsel had argued to downgrade charges from First Degree, Pre-Meditated Murder to Manslaughter as a result of “heat of passion” and self defense. Waukazo and Bates had been involved in a relationship prior to Bates’ death. The prosecution repeatedly argued that the aggressive and deliberate attack which resulted in Bates’ death at the hands of Waukazo, in fact, the antithesis of self-defense and a passionate response.
“This is cold blooded murder,” states Mike Freeman, Hennepin County Attorney, in his summation. “This was a premeditated planned committed action… he killed her and left her to die.”
According to trial testimony, Bates had recently begun dating Waukazo and told friends that he was “the one.” On the evening of January 6, 2011, after an argument in Bates’ Minneapolis apartment, Waukazo initially strangled Bates to the point of unconsciousness. According to his taped confession, when she moved, he made the deliberate decision to end her life. He reached for a small switchblade on a nearby table and proceeded to stab her multiple times causing significant, fatal injuries. Waukazo left the apartment, leaving her to be found five days later by the apartment manager.
“We know that the person she called the love of her life killed her in a brutal senseless act of transphobic, intimate partner violence,” says OutFront Minnesota Anti-Violence Program Director Rebecca Waggoner. “And we are committed to making sure Krissy is remembered, and that her death will remind us all of the work yet to be done to create a safe community where all are respected and able to be themselves.”
According to OutFront Minnesota executive director Monica Meyer, “Regardless of whether the violence that affects our community comes at the hands of an intimate partner or a total stranger, it’s a reminder that safety is one of the primary concerns of LGBT people Our public policy work is in no small part guided by our commitment to creating a Minnesota where LGBT people are valued members of families and communities where others would not think of compromising their safety.”
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