Suspect in deadly Zebulon armed robbery accused of killing transgender woman
This story was updated June 29, 2022, after the Zebulon police chief responded to our questions by email.
A national LGBTQ advocacy group has identified a person killed in Zebulon in May as 45-year-old Sasha Mason.
At the time of the incident, Mason, a transgender woman of Latino descent, was identified by the Zebulon Police Department as a man with a different name. The News & Observer published a story about the killing using details in the police report, including Mason’s “dead name.”
A dead name is a term in the LGBTQ community used to refer to the name a transgender person was given at birth before their transition.
Zebulon Police Chief Jacqui Boykin was not available for an interview Tuesday, but in an email Wednesday explained the department used “the victim’s given name” in its report, which also appears on the person’s North Carolina state issued ID.
“There is no evidence that would indicate that [Mason’s] murder had anything to do with the LGBTQ status,” Boykin wrote in the email. “Evidence suggests that the motive for the crime was robbery.:
The investigation continues, the chief said, adding, “we expect additional charges in the coming weeks.”
Mason’s death is the 16th confirmed killing of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in the United States so far this year, the Human Rights Campaign wrote in a news release.
“Sasha’s death is yet another tragic incident in an epidemic of fatal violence against transgender people, especially transgender women of color,” Tori Cooper, director of the HRC’s Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, said in the release.
“Those who wish to do us harm are emboldened by the hostile anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and anti-trans stigma in our current politics and culture,” Cooper said. “It must end.”
Case details
Zebulon Police officers responded to a shooting call around 2 a.m. May 13 in the 200 block of West Barbee Street. Police found Mason suffering from gunshot wounds in an apartment behind a home, The News & Observer previously reported. They believe the attack was targeted.
Officials initially charged two suspects with conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, according to Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.
Ali Tariq K. Wiggins, 30, was arrested May 13 and is in the Wake County Detention Center under $1 million secured bail. Police say Wiggins and Mason knew each other.
Julius Antwan Smith, 33, was arrested two days later. He was later charged with murder on June 22 and remains in custody without bail. He is due in court on July 14.
Officials have not shared a possible motive.
This investigation is ongoing.
This story was originally published June 28, 2022 at 5:34 PM.
