“Crimes motivated by hate have devastating effects on the victims, their families and community, but also leave a blemish on our society as a whole,” FBI Special Agent in charge Christopher Freeze said in a statement about the case. In pleading guilty, Vallum acknowledged that he had lied about the circumstances surrounding the homicide and that he would not have killed Williamson if she was not transgender. Vallum also falsely claimed to investigators that he killed Williamson in a panic after discovering she was transgender. There, Vallum admitted he used a stun gun to electrically shock the victim before repeatedly stabbing her and striking her with a hammer until she died.Īfter the murder, investigators learned, Vallum attempted to dispose of the murder weapons and other evidence linking him to the crime. On May 29, 2015, Vallum located Williamson at her residence in Alabama and used false pretenses to lure her into his car so he could drive her to his father’s residence in Lucedale, Mississippi. Vallum previously pleaded guilty to a state murder charge and was sentenced to life in prison.ĭuring his romantic relationship with Williamson, Vallum kept the sexual nature of the relationship, as well as Williamson’s transgender status, secret from his family, friends and other members of his gang, investigators said.Īfter Vallum terminated the romantic and sexual relationship, he had no contact with her until when he decided to kill Williamson after learning that a friend had discovered Williamson was transgender, the defendant admitted during his guilty plea.įederal investigators said Vallum believed he would be in danger if other Latin Kings members found out that he had engaged in a consensual sexual relationship with a transgender woman. In entering his guilty plea, the defendant, a member of the Latin Kings and Queens Nation gang, admitted that he had a consensual sexual relationship with Williamson, who was 17, and knew the victim was transgender. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in committing the murder two years ago this month in Mississippi. Vallum pleaded guilty last December to a single federal charge alleging he violated the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Department of Justice said in a statement. The lengthy sentence “reflects the importance of holding individuals accountable when they commit violent acts against transgender individuals,” the U.S. Joshua Brandon Vallum, 29, of Lucedale, Mississippi, was sentenced this week in the Southern District of Mississippi to 49 years in prison for assaulting and murdering Mercedes Williamson because she was a transgender woman.
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