Man sentenced to 50 years in prison for killing trans partner
A man who shot and killed his transgender partner has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Daniel Molayem was found guilty of first-degree murder back in November for shooting his partner to death.
He had been with 32-year-old Kourtney Yochum for 15 years before he killed her.
According to witnesses, on 23 March last year, Malayem, 41, approached Yochum in Downtown Los Angeles and shot her in the head.
Speaking to City News, a friend of Yochum, Megan Lacy Wren, said: “When the coroner called me to verify she had been killed, I already knew you were the one who did it as she would express her fear of you killing her.”
Wren added that Yochum had “this incredible smile that could light up a whole galaxy” and “this laugh that had the ability to pull you out of the darkest of moments.”
An officer with the LAPD had said that the shooting could have been a domestic dispute.
As well as being found guilty of first-degree murder, Molayem was also found guilty of assault with a firearm and use of a shotgun.
Brooklyn BreYanna Stevenson, 31, was recently murdered and became the 27th trans person to be killed this year in the US, making it by far the most deadly year on record.
Ally’s death came just days after 21-year-old Scout Schultz, a non-binary, bisexual, intersex student at Georgia Tech, was shot dead by a campus police officer who had no crisis intervention training.
(Facebook/Scout Schultz)
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has faced an avalanche of criticism for his treatment of trans people.
In February, he revoked protections for trans students.
(Getty)
And in August, he announced a ban on trans people serving in the military.
