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DA Still Trying To Confirm Who Killed Transgender Woman
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 6, 2013
Modified Oct 6, 2013
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 6, 2013
Modified Oct 6, 2013
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A second suspect has come forward to admit to fatally beating 21-year-old transgender woman Islan Nettles, complicating the Manhattan DA's efforts to prosecute the case. The Daily News reports that the unnamed suspect said he was too intoxicated to remember the attack, but that "reliable corroborators" have confirmed that he was the assailant.
Nettles, who lived a vibrant and promising life, was stalked by a group of men and beaten to death in Harlem this summer. 20-year-old Paris Wilson was initially charged with misdemeanor assault in the incident. While some witnesses said that Wilson was the main aggressor, Wilson's attorney, Xavier Donaldson, claims it was a case of mistaken identity.
"Someone identified my client as being there, as being in the area, and ironically the young man who said he did it looks substantially similar to my client and in fact may have even had the same colored clothing on as my client," Donaldson said.
DNAinfo's source says that the police's evidence has been exhausted in the case. At a hearing on Friday, the Manhattan DA's office asked the judge in the case for more time to investigate. Wilson remains free on $2,000 bail, though the case has prevented him from returning to college.
"Justice is being delayed," Islan's mother Delores told the outlet. "To see him walk out of the court and know that he's going home...My baby can't come home."
Tagged
harlem
islan nettles
senseless murder
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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