Man who murdered and dismembered trans woman jailed for life
(Getty)
A man has been jailed for life for stabbing a trans woman in the head and then dismembering her body.
Charles Sargent, 44, killed Diamond Williams in Philadelphia in 2013. This week he was sentenced to life in prison, CBS Philly reported.
Sargent was said to have admitted killing Ms Williams but claimed it was in self defence.
Related: Miss Trans America found murdered at Massachusetts home
He said they had got into a fight when he realised the victim was transgender.
Protesters held a rally in Philadelphia last month for trans rights (Getty)
But prosecutors rejected his description of events. Kristen Kemp, for the prosecution, said Sargent had had the chance to leave but instead used a screwdriver to repeatedly stab Ms Williams in the head.
He then dismembered her body, which police later found nearby and in a local river.
In her closing argument, Ms Kemp said: “He murdered her, he dismembered her body, in the most despicable and egregious of manner.”
Jurors took just 30 minutes to reach a guilty verdict, according to CBS Philly. A judge, who said it was a trial she would never forget, sentenced Sargent to life in prison.
Related: Transgender woman burnt to death is second killed this year
The number of transgender killings has risen across the US in recent years.
At least 28 people were killed last year, the Human Rights Campaign reported, compared with 23 in 2016 and 21 the previous year. So far this year six trans people have been the victims of fatal violence, according to the group.
