Officials: Transgender teen's grisly death not a hate crime

HOUSTON, Missouri (AP):

Some of Ally Lee Steinfeld's burnt remains were found in a bag in a rural southern Missouri chicken coop. Authorities say both of the transgender teen's eyes had been gouged out and she had been stabbed in the genitals.

As questions swirl about why the quiet 17-year-old was killed in such a ghastly manner, authorities aren't saying what led to the killing. But they dismiss the possibility that the death was a hate crime.

Authorities identified the remains as those of Joseph Matthew Steinfeld Jr Ally Lee Steinfeld's birth name. They were found last week in the town of Cabool, near the mobile home of one of the alleged killers, 24-year-old Briana Calderas, with whom Steinfeld was living.

Calderas and two 18-year-olds, Andrew Vrba and Isis Schauer, are charged with first-degree murder and other counts. A fourth suspect is charged with abandonment of a corpse and tampering with evidence.

Both Sheriff James Sigman and prosecutor Parke Stevens Jr insist the crime was not motivated by Steinfeld's gender identity.

"I would say murder in the first-degree is all that matters," Stevens said. "That is a hate crime in itself."

Yet, the killing has drawn the attention of transgender advocates and others across the US who believe Steinfeld was targeted for her gender identity, despite what the Texas County sheriff and prosecutor say.

MUST COME TO AN END

"This violence, often motivated by hatred, must come to an end," said Chris Sgro, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, who said Steinfeld was the 21st transgender person killed this year in the US. "We will continue to mourn Ally and fight back against transphobia and anti-trans violence."

Steinfeld had been missing for weeks, and initial news reports referred to her as a male, in part because missing-person posters distributed by the family used Steinfeld's birth name, as did police documents.

Steinfeld's mother, Amber Steinfeld, still refers to her child as Joey, but said the teen identified as female to family and to friends on social media. She said her child was "loving and kind-hearted".

Steinfeld was engaged to a woman until they broke up in August, Amber Steinfeld said, and soon after began dating Calderas. She said Steinfeld and the two 18-year-old suspects were all living at Calderas' mobile home. She said that Steinfeld was upbeat before she disappeared, telling relatives that she loved them and was happy.