Milwaukee man faces murder charge in killing of transgender woman
Davion Steed, 22, was charged Thursday with first-degree intentional homicide in the killing of 23-year-old Amari Dior, a transgender woman living in Milwaukee, on Feb. 21.
Prosecutors say the two had been in contact until the day before the shooting and it involved the suspect being blackmailed.
Dior identified Steed to first responders by first name before she died, and authorities used messages between the two and phone data to determine Steed was the shooter, according to the criminal complaint.
Steed is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on March 21 in the case. He is held on $500,000 cash bond, according to online court records.
According to the criminal complaint:
Prosecutors say the shooting occurred following Dior blackmailing Steed for money. The two had been in contact since early January and until the day before the shooting, according to phone data.
Conversations on Facebook between the two show Dior and Steed were planning to meet on or around Valentine's Day, but Dior told him she was transgender. Steed told officers he declined to meet with her at that point and said Dior then threatened him to send her money, or she would post about how he "did something to (her.)"
Police compared Marquette University Police Department arrest photos of Steed to confirm the Facebook profile was his.
Police reviewed phone records from the day before the shooting which showed 'that (Dior) is demanding $200' and that Steed said he was trying to get the money.
Following the shooting, detectives interviewed two of Dior's roommates, who were home during the shooting, which occurred near midnight. One said they heard someone, who authorities believe is Dior, enter the home and a subsequent gunshot.
Authorities interviewed Steed on two occasions. He initially denied having a cell phone, knowing Dior, or ever meeting her. In a second interview, he confirmed with police he had a phone and had communicated with Dior.
Police later reviewed other phone records of Steed's from the day before the shooting and from about 20 minutes before the last conversation between he and Dior. They showed him asking someone if they still had bullets because he needed them 'badly.'
Dior's death follows four murders of transgender women in Milwaukee between 2022 and 2023. Those murders led to the community advocates to call for stronger enforcement of hate crimes.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, 335 transgender and gender non-conforming individuals nationwide have been the victims of homicide since 2013. The majority of those victims were Black and Latina transgender women.
At least 32 transgender or gender-expansive people in the United States were killed in 2024 alone.
Dior's killing is one of at least 17 reported homicides to Milwaukee police so far this year, according to police data. That's down 23% from last year at this time and 35% from the year prior at this date.
David Clarey is a public safety reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He can be reached at dclarey@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man faces murder charge in killing of transgender woman
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