Man Charged With Manslaughter For Chelsea Transgender Killing, Prosecutors Say

CHELSEA, NY — The man hit and killed a transgender person in Chelsea last month has been charged with manslaughter, prosecutors said on Friday.

The victim was initially identified by the NYPD as a transgender woman named Brenda Bostick. According to a statement from prosecutors, Bostick "identified as transgender and was alternately known as Brenda and Kenneth Bostick, or simply 'Bostick.'"

Joseph Griffin, 26, struck Bostick with a metal object in Chelsea on the night of April 25, according to prosecutors. Bostick, 59, was found by police with a skull injury on a Seventh Avenue sidewalk, transported to a nearby hospital and declared brain dead on May 4 before dying on May 7, prosecutors said.

After the attack, Griffin fled from the sidewalk where he'd struck Bostick, before running through the street and jumping on top of a taxi about 90 minutes later, according to authorities. Griffin allegedly smashed the cab's windshield, for which he faces a criminal mischief charge.

"The defendant is charged with attacking Brenda/Kenneth Bostick with such force that it left a skull injury that caused the victim’s senseless and tragic death 12 days later," Manhattan prosecutor Cyrus Vance said in a statement. "My Office is committed to ensuring that justice is served in Bostick’s memory."

Bostick's death was not investigated as a hate crime or bias incident by police.

Patch was not immediately able to contact Griffin's attorney on Friday afternoon.

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