Bella Evangelista

Bella Evangelista (1978 - August 16, 2003) was a transgender Latina who lived in Washington, D.C. She was shot to death on August 16, 2003, by Antione Jacobs, who felt deceived upon learning Evangelista was transgender after paying her for a sex act.

Evangelista, 25, immigrated to the United States from Guatemala. She became a popular performer at Club Chaos1), and other D.C. bars and drag shows, becoming known for her lip-synch performances of numbers from The Phantom of the Opera2), though she did not identify as a drag queen. She attended a transgender support group where she spoke about struggling with drug addiction, and having to engage in occasional sex work in order to support herself. 3)

At about 4:30 a.m., on August 16, 2003, Evangelista was shot to death at the corner of Arkansas Avenue and Allison Street NW, by Antione D. Jacobs, 22.4) Jacobs later told investigators that he paid Evangelista for oral sex. After learning from someone else that Evangelista was transgender, he became enraged and returned to the scene and shot her.5)

Jacobs was stopped and arrested by police as he rode away from the scene on his bicycle. Jacobs told police that he'd shot Evangelista to defend himself against an attempted robbery. Investigators dismissed Jacobs' robbery claim, and investigated the murder as a hate crime.6) Police recovered the gun after observing Jacobs toss it away as he rode on his bike. 7)

According to a close friend, Evangelista lived in the neighborhood where she was shot, and was “out” as a transgender woman.8) Transgender activists said the area where Evangelista was shot is rarely frequented by transgender sex workers, but is popular with heterosexual female sex workers. However, police said that the area is frequented by Latino male-to-female transgender sex workers.9)

On August 19, 2003, 75 to 100 people attended a vigil in honor of Evangelista, at the site of her murder. Attendees created a memorial to Evangelista, covering a sign post with her pictures and leaving stuff animals, candles, and signs calling for an end to violence.10) Attendees reported being verbally harassed by neighborhood residents as they walked to the vigil.11)

Two nights later, on August 21, friends of Evangelista discovered that the memorial had been destroyed. Photos of Evangelista had been torn down and ripped to pieces. Flowers candles that had been placed on the sidewalk were smashed.12)

Evangelista's murder happened just four days after a vigil commemorating the murders of transgender teenagers Ukea Davis and Stephanie Thomas one year earlier. Evangelista was the fourth transgender woman to be murdered in D.C. in 2003.13) She was also the first of three transgender women who were shot in D.C., in just five days.14)

On December 16, Jacobs was sentence to 16 years and eight months for Evangelista's murder, followed by five years of supervised probation.15)