Kansas City man sentenced in 2019 killing of transgender woman, prosecutors say
A Jackson County judge on Thursday sentenced a Kansas City man to 22 years in a Missouri prison in the shooting death of a transgender woman in a northeast neighborhood in June 2019.
Marcus S. Lewis, 43, pleaded guilty on June 24 to voluntary manslaughter in the killing of 32-year-old Brooklyn Lindsey. Lewis also pleaded guilty to armed criminal action and unlawful possession of a weapon.
According to court records, Kansas City police responded to a report of a dead body found on the steps of a house in the 600 block of Spruce Avenue near Independence Avenue.
Neighbors told police they heard an argument and gunshots at about 2:30 a.m on June 25, 2019 earlier that morning.
Crime scene investigators recovered five shell casings from around the woman’s body. DNA testing of the casings led police to Lewis, who was arrested in a separate case for aggravated domestic violence and armed business robbery.
Lewis admitted to shooting Lindsey after police confronted him with the DNA evidence. He told investigators he saw Lindsey walking the morning of the shooting on Independence Avenue and she approached him in his car. He got out of the vehicle and attempted to walk away, but a physical altercation broke out.
Lewis and Lindsey fell to the ground fighting. Lewis said as he escaped Lindsey’s grasp, he pulled out a gun and shot her, according to court records.
Lindsey’s death outraged members of the LGBTQ community, who said violence against transgender people, especially those of color, is all too prevalent.
