Angie Zapata
Encyclopedia
Angie Zapata was an American trans woman
beaten to death in Greeley, Colorado
. Allen Andrade was convicted of first-degree murder and committing a bias-motivated crime, because he killed her after he learned that she was transgender
. The case was the first in the nation to get a conviction for a hate crime
involving a transgender victim. Angie Zapata's story and murder were featured on Univision
's "Aqui y Ahora
" television show on November 1, 2009.
, she adopted the name "Angie" when she was 16 and began living as a woman.
. According to Andrade, the two met on July 15, 2008, and spent nearly three days together, during which they had a sexual encounter. Prosecutors state that Andrade later discovered that Zapata was transgender and subsequently began beating her—first with his fists and then with a fire extinguisher—until she was dead. In the arrest affidavit, Andrade said he thought he had "killed it" before leaving in Zapata's car with the murder weapon and other incriminating evidence. Andrade was arrested near his residence driving Zapata's car.
The possibility of prosecuting the case as a hate crime was pressed by Zapata's family. The actual trial began on April 16, 2009. During the trial, the jury heard jailhouse conversations in which Andrade told a girlfriend that "gay things must die."
On April 22, 2009, Andrade was found guilty of first degree murder, hate crimes, aggravated motor vehicle theft and identity theft. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Because Andrade had six prior felony convictions, the judge dubbed him a "habitual criminal" at his May 8, 2009 sentencing trial for the hate crime and theft convictions. This quadrupled his sentence to an additional 60 years.
Trans woman
A trans woman is a male-to-female transsexual or transgender person and the term trans woman is preferred by some individuals over various medical terms. Other non-medical terms include t-girl, tg-girl and ts-girl...
beaten to death in Greeley, Colorado
Greeley, Colorado
The City of Greeley is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Weld County, Colorado, United States. Greeley is located in the region known as Northern Colorado. Greeley is situated north-northeast of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. According to the...
. Allen Andrade was convicted of first-degree murder and committing a bias-motivated crime, because he killed her after he learned that she was transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
. The case was the first in the nation to get a conviction for a hate crime
Hate crime
In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or...
involving a transgender victim. Angie Zapata's story and murder were featured on Univision
Univision
Univision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
's "Aqui y Ahora
Aquí y Ahora
Aquí y Ahora is the sixth album of Erik Rubin. In it, Rubin changed his traditional rock music sound to a Britpop sound. It is his first work for Sony Music, and was recorded in Los Angeles and Mexico. Rubin worked with Ettore Grencci and others. The first single to be released is "No Para de...
" television show on November 1, 2009.
Background
Born on August 5, 1989, in Brighton, ColoradoBrighton, Colorado
Brighton is a Home Rule Municipality in Adams and Weld counties in the U.S. state of Colorado, and the county seat of Adams County. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 31,380 in 2008.-Geography:...
, she adopted the name "Angie" when she was 16 and began living as a woman.
Murder and trial
Zapata was 18 when she met Allen Andrade (age 31 at the time) through the mobile phone social network MocoSpaceMocoSpace
MocoSpace is a social network specifically designed for use on a mobile device, also known as a mobile social network. The features of the site are similar to other social networking sites. Features include mobile chat, instant messaging, photo and video sharing, as well as forums...
. According to Andrade, the two met on July 15, 2008, and spent nearly three days together, during which they had a sexual encounter. Prosecutors state that Andrade later discovered that Zapata was transgender and subsequently began beating her—first with his fists and then with a fire extinguisher—until she was dead. In the arrest affidavit, Andrade said he thought he had "killed it" before leaving in Zapata's car with the murder weapon and other incriminating evidence. Andrade was arrested near his residence driving Zapata's car.
The possibility of prosecuting the case as a hate crime was pressed by Zapata's family. The actual trial began on April 16, 2009. During the trial, the jury heard jailhouse conversations in which Andrade told a girlfriend that "gay things must die."
On April 22, 2009, Andrade was found guilty of first degree murder, hate crimes, aggravated motor vehicle theft and identity theft. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Because Andrade had six prior felony convictions, the judge dubbed him a "habitual criminal" at his May 8, 2009 sentencing trial for the hate crime and theft convictions. This quadrupled his sentence to an additional 60 years.
Dedication
The 2011 novel The Butterfly and the Flame by Dana De Young was dedicated in part to Angie's memory.External links
- Angie Zapata via Respectance.com