Emonie Spaulding

Emonie Spaulding (1977 - August 21, 2003) was an African American transgender woman from Washington, D.C. On August 21, 2003, she was shot to death by Derrick Antwan Lewis after Lewis discovered Spaulding was transgender.

Emonie Spaulding

Spaulding, 26, had live in Washington D.C. for two years, and had previously lived in Springfield, MA, and Henderson, NC. Her uncle, John Marshall, remembered her as a child who enjoyed music and sang in the church choir. She was part of a group of friends who frequented an apartent on Mellon Street SE, and the players lounge, a nightclub in southeast D.C.¹⁾

Spaulding was last seen at 1:15 a.m. on August 21, leaving the Mellon Street apartment, headed to a 24-hour convenience store. At 2:00 a.m., police received report of gunshots being heard in the area of Second Street and Malcolm X Avenue SE.²⁾ Upon responding to the call, police found Spaulding's nude body in a grassy area seven feet from the street. Spaulding had been shot in the left arm and in the chest.³⁾ Spaulding also suffered severe blows to the head.⁴⁾ No clothing or shell casings were found near Spaulding's body, leading police to believe she had been shot elsewhere and brought to the location. ⁵⁾ Her clothing was discovered the next day, dumped on a nearby street.⁶⁾

Spaulding was declared dead at the scene, and was identified at the scene by friends. Her uncle was unable to confirm her identity from the photo he was shown at the medical examiner's office.⁷⁾

Spaulding was the second transgender woman to be shot, and the second to be killed, in D.C. in less than six days. Her murder came just five days after Bella Evangelista was shot and killed. Dee Andre, another transgender woman, was shot and wounded on the same day as Spaulding.⁸⁾

Investigators got their first break in the case upon discovering that Spaulding's phone had been stolen at the time of the murder. A witness who knew Spaulding informed police of her phone number. Police traced calls placed from the phone and discovered a call was made six minutes after the 911 call reporting gunshots in the area where Spaulding's body was found, leading to the identification of a suspect in Spaulding's murder.⁹⁾

The call was placed to a Maryland woman who loaned her car to Lewis on the night Spaulding was killed. The woman told investigators that she had let Lewis borrow her car that night, and that the front area of the car was spattered with blood when he returned it.¹⁰⁾ When he returned the car, Lewis explained to the owner that the blood came from a cut on his hand, received in a fight at a strip club.¹¹⁾ However, DNA analysis linked the blood spots to Spaulding, and fibers pulled from Spaulding's clothing were a likely match for the carpet in the car.

The woman also told police that her .38 caliber revolver was missing. Investigators believed, based on bullets recovered from Spaulding's body, that the weapon used in her murder could have been a .38.¹²⁾ Lewis also had carried a gun because he worked in a strip club, and part of his job was to escort dancers to their cars.¹³⁾

On August 26, police raided a house in search of Lewis, but missed finding him. Lewis surrendered himself later that day at the headquarters of the D.C. police violent crimes unit. He was charged with second degree murder, and scheduled for arraignment the following day. Police said there was no evidence of premediation, which is required for a first degree murder charge.¹⁴⁾ Police also said it was unclear whether prostitution or a sex-related discovery had played a role in Spaulding's murder.¹⁵⁾

On August 27, over the objections of police and proseutors, a D.C. Superior Court judge ordered Lewis released on his own recognizance to await trial. The judge noted that Lewis had no prior criminal record, was employed at the time of his arrest, and was not a flight risk due to longstanding ties to the community.¹⁶⁾

On March 26, Lewis pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter while armed, saying that he did not want to inflict any further pain on Spaulding's family.¹⁷⁾ Prosecutors did not allege bias as a motive in Spaulding's murder, as had been done in Bella Evangelista's murder. The motive remained undefined until Lewis defense attorney spoke at the hearing. His attorney said that Lewis became angry upon discovering that Spaulsing was transgender, and the two began fighting in the car. Lewis, his attorney said, drew the gun in order to force Spaulding out of the car.

Lewis was sentenced to 10 years in prison. D.C.'s non-mandatory sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of 7 1/2 to 15 years.¹⁸⁾