Two men charged over tragic killing of Black trans woman Pebbles LaDime Doe in 2019

Two men have been charged in connection with the 2019 killing of a Black trans woman in South Carolina.

Pebbles LaDime “Dime” Doe was a 24-year-old Black trans woman who was killed in Allendale County. Her body, showing evidence of gunshot wounds, was found slumped over the steering wheel of a car in the Concord Church and Barnwell roads area of Allendale County on 4 August. 

On Wednesday (1 February) the US Attorney’s Office for the District of South Carolina announced that two men had been charged in relation to Doe’s death. 

The indictment charged Daqua Ritter, 26, with a hate crime for the murder of Doe because of her gender identity, as well as using a firearm in connection with the hate crime, and obstruction of justice. 

The indictment charged Xavier Pinckney, 24, with two obstruction offences for providing false and misleading statements to authorities investigating the killing. 

Both men are alleged to have mislead police during the investigation

According to court documents seen by Insider, Ritter killed Doe by shooting her in the head. 

Investigators alleged that in the days and months following the murder, Ritter knowingly provided misleading accounts of his interactions with Doe to South Carolina law enforcement. 

He then lied to police about his communications with Pinckney, who lived a mile from where Doe’s body was discovered, the prosecution alleges. 

Pinckney told the police that he did not have a phone number, although he had called and texted Doe on the day of her death, according to the indictment. 

As well as this, Pinckney is alleged to have lied about seeing Ritter on the morning after the killing. 

The hate crime count against Ritter carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. 

The counts charging Ritter and Pinckney with obstruction of justice carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail. 

The count charging Pinckney with lying to federal investigators carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment.

Trans woman was Pebbles LaDime Doe was ‘the best to be around’

News of Doe’s death came just weeks after another Black trans woman, Denali Berries Stuckey, was fatally shot in North Charleston.

Following news of Doe’s death, friends and family described her on social media as having a “bright personality”, being someone who “showed love” and who was “the best to be around”. 

Another friend wrote: “If I knew Friday was my last time seeing you, I would have hugged you even tighter.”

Doe’s killing was among 61 unresolved cases out of 175 trans deaths in the US over the past five years, according to an Insider investigation and a database capturing information not tracked by the FBI.