Who is Kendrell Lyles? Dallas man sentenced to 48 years in prison for 2019 murder of trans woman Muhlaysia Booker
DALLAS, TEXAS: Kendrell Lyles, 37, has reportedly been sentenced to 48 years in prison for the 2019 murder of Muhlaysia Booker, a transgender woman in Dallas.
Lyles pleaded guilty to the murder just as jury selection was about to commence in his trial for the crime, as per USA Today.
Who was Muhlaysia Booker?
Booker, aged 22 at the time, tragically lost her life about a month after she had been subjected to a brutal assault captured on video. The fatal shooting of Booker followed a group attack she endured after a minor traffic accident.
On the morning of May 18, 2019, she was discovered dead from a gunshot wound.
An investigation established that an "unknown person" picked her up in the early hours of that day in a car matching the description of one driven by Lyles, a known visitor to the area where transgender prostitutes congregated.
Furthermore, evidence showed that Lyles and Booker's phones were in close proximity to each other before and after her murder. Her lifeless body was found a short distance from where she had been picked up.
Lyles' attorney Richard Franklin acknowledged that the guilty plea was the right decision but was unable to provide a motive for the murder.
Booker's mother Stephanie Houston expressed the family's desire for justice, stating, "No amount of time can bring Muhlaysia back, and although we wish the sentence was capital punishment, our family can finally have some sense of closure knowing that justice was served and he can't cause any more families hurt and pain."
Lyles also faces two other murder charges related to the May 2019 shootings of Leticia Grant, 35, and Kenneth Cichocki, 29.
The authorities have not disclosed a clear motive for these homicides.
Muhlaysia Booker was a victim of group assault before her death
Tragically, Booker's fatal shooting came just one month after a viral group assault on her.
In April 2019, video footage captured several men attacking her following a minor car accident.
The incident escalated when another driver involved in the accident refused to let Booker leave until she paid for damage to his vehicle.
A crowd gathered, and individuals offered money to beat Booker. She was subjected to physical violence, including a person stomping on her head, all of which was documented and shared on social media.
Edward Thomas, 29, was arrested and jailed on an aggravated assault charge in connection with the attack.
Booker, who was hospitalized with injuries from the assault, reported that homophobic slurs were used by her assailants.
Despite the disturbing nature of the earlier attack, the police have confirmed that her murder was unrelated to the April assault, leaving the motive behind her killing shrouded in uncertainty.