Sep 03 2012
∞
“ At first, because the victim was transgender, local officials believed that the murder was a hate crime. But several weeks later it became clear that Shelly’s death was connected to work she had done as a police informant. Just days before she was killed, cops had spotted Shelly and a friend smoking a blunt on the balcony of a Motel 6 in a Detroit suburb. When they raided the room, they found a sandwich bag with half an ounce of marijuana in the toilet tank. One of the officers threatened Shelly with prison — a particularly terrifying prospect for a transgender woman, who would be sent to a male facility — and then offered her a way out: she could set up her dealer, Qasim Raqib, and walk free that same day. She agreed.
Raqib was arrested after Shelly arranged the sting. Several hours later, he was released. He then tracked her down and, with the help of James Matthews, strangled, mutilated, burned, and dismembered her. (Both men have since pleaded guilty to murder; in court, one witness testified that the police had revealed Shelly’s identity.)
Raqib was arrested after Shelly arranged the sting. Several hours later, he was released. He then tracked her down and, with the help of James Matthews, strangled, mutilated, burned, and dismembered her. (Both men have since pleaded guilty to murder; in court, one witness testified that the police had revealed Shelly’s identity.)
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Sarah Stillman, “The Throwaways,”The New Yorker
The entire article is infuriating — it stacks up case after case of young people who were murdered after escaping jail time for very minor drug charges in exchange for acting as informants for police, who frequently seem to have coerced these teens and offered them neither protection nor training. But the story of Shelly Hilliard upsets me the most. Cops used her fear of being a transwoman in a male prison to secure her as an informant and then, as if that weren’t enough, blew her cover. Why aren’t they on the hook for her murder, too?
