01 February 2015

Same Shit, Different Coast: Trans Woman Michelle Vash Payne Murdered In L.A.

If I were more jaded, I'd say it's the same old story.

But since a life was ended in a horrible, brutal way, I won't be so blase.  


Still, we've heard it too many times:  A trans woman found dead in her apartment.  Boyfriend is prime suspect.

This time, instead of Ridgewood (about two neighborhoods  away from mine), New York, the scene is on the other coast:  in the Van Nuys section of Los Angeles, California.

There, firefighters forced their way into an apartment.  After quickly putting out a fire in a rear bedroom, they found the body of Michelle Vash Payne on the kitchen floor.

But, from the looks of things, her death had nothing to do with the fire:  She had been stabbed and a murder weapon was recovered at the scene.

About an hour before the firefighters came, neighbors said they heard arguing in the apartment, into wich Payne and her boyfriend had recently moved.  However, nobody called the police.

Perhaps I'm ignorant of police procedures, but I find it a little odd that the suspect's name or photo hasn't been released, although a physical description was given and he's said to be her boyfriend.