A Mississippi man was sentenced to 40 years in prison after stabbing a woman 119 times after he learned on a date that she was transgender.
On Thursday, the man, 21-year-old Dwanya Hickerson, pleaded guilty to the murder of Dee Whigham. In addition to the sentence for murder, he will serve 15 years in prison for a robbery charge. He took a plea deal in order to avoid facing the death penalty over the capital murder charge.
Whigham’s mother, Vickie Blackney Whigham, blasted the plea deal, saying, “I think the plea is a slap in the face. He gets a chance to see his family and I don’t have that chance with my child.”
According to Hickerson’s testimony in court, he and Whigham had spoken online for months before deciding to meet up in person on July 23. The two met up at a hotel room, and after having some form of sex, Whigham told Hickerson that she was transgender, at which point, he said, “I lost it.”
According to autopsy results, Whigham was stabbed 119 times, with most of the wounds being on her face. Her throat was also slashed three times.
WLOX-TV reported Jackson County Sheriff’s Deputy Leo Allen saying that Whigham and Hickerson were seen entering the hotel room together, and Hickerson was seen exiting the room 23 minutes later with his shirt around his neck, after having taken a shower.
phxtravis on July 26th, 2017 at 16:12 UTC »
When I was a lot younger, 5ish, my Mom took me to an Italian restaurant and ordered me some cheese sticks. After I finished the first one, she leans over and tells me that they were actually fish sticks... I cried for a solid 10 minutes and too this day can't eat most fish products. This is what I was reminded of when I read the article, minus the murder of course.
Downvotesohoy on July 26th, 2017 at 16:06 UTC »
I'll say it again, we need Trans options on Tinder. So users can choose if they want to get matched with trans people, and trans people can select that they're trans etc. Assuming they met on Tinder.
ivebeenhereallsummer on July 26th, 2017 at 15:15 UTC »
OK, murder is a terrible thing and this guy should not get away with such a crime because he felt deceived, but if you are trans and you hook up with someone you don't wait until after the sex to tell your date. You should never even set up a date without letting the other person know.