Trans woman gunned down on side of road, Texas cops say. Man arrested months later
It’s been over two months since 36-year-old Diamond Brigman was shot and killed while standing on the side of a Houston road, Texas police said.
On May 29, Walter Daniel Saravia Palacios, 35, was charged with murder, according to Houston police and court records. He is being held on a $500,000 bond.
The public defender for Saravia Palacios did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment.
Witnesses told officers that Saravia Palacios was in a car that stopped near Brigman as she stood on the side of the road March 16. He got out of the passenger side and fired multiple shots at her, police said.
He then jumped in the car as another person sped away, according to a May 29 news release from the Houston Police Department.
Investigators found the vehicle but were still searching for Saravia Palacios as people mourned Brigman’s death.
Saravia Palacios was eventually identified as the main suspect in the case and was arrested May 28, police said.
The 36-year-old Brigman was described as “larger than life” by her friend, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s news release.
“She had a lot of energy and was always smiling and personable,” her friend said.
Community advocates believe Brigman was targeted and said there is a “disturbing trend” of violence against transgender people in the Houston area, according to KRIV.
“Black trans women deserve to grow old,” Brigman’s friend told the HRC.
She’s the 35th transgender or gender-expansive person to be killed in Texas since 2013, the most in the nation, according to the HRC. More than half of those victims were Black, transgender women.
The HRC is an advocacy group that is “leading the fight for LGTBQ+ rights” across the nation, according to its website.
“Before you see any of us in our trans and gender identity first, the one thing we are at all times from the moment of birth, from the moment of conception, from the moment we come out before they gender identify us is human beings,” Atlantis Narcisse, founder of Save Our Sisters United, told KHOU.
Saravia Palacios is scheduled to appear in court May 30, according to court records.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 8:39 AM with the headline "Trans woman gunned down on side of road, Texas cops say. Man arrested months later."
