2 Trans Sex Workers Slain, CMPD Issues Urgent Warning

CHARLOTTE, NC — Charlotte police issued an urgent warning to the LGBT sex worker community to be "hyper-cautious and hyper-vigilant" Thursday evening after two transgender sex workers were found shot to death in area hotels in less than two weeks.

"This is something we rarely see," CMPD spokesperson Rob Tufano said in a news conference Thursday evening.

The warning comes hours after police responded to a homicide scene in north Charlotte before dawn Thursday morning, reporting that a male victim had been found shot to death.

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The case seems potentially linked to a similar case: Jaida Peterson was found shot to death at the Quality Inn on Queen City Drive in West Charlotte on Easter Sunday.

"Fast forward to earlier hours of this morning, at the Sleep Inn up in our University City area, yet another victim found shot to death in a hotel room," Tufano said.

CMPD has not released the identity of that gunshot victim pending family notification, he said.

On the surface, the cases have obvious parallels, Trufano said. Both of the victims were transgender women, sex workers who were shot to death in hotels.

"Naturally the assumption would be these have got to be connected, right? We don't know," Trufano said. "We just flat out do not know, but they're consistent enough when you have circumstances and similarities like that, that it's gotten our attention. And it needs to get the attention of the community."

His warning to the community was chilling.

"They have to know there's probably, arguably, never a more vulnerable time for them than tonight," until the person or people behind the homicides are apprehended and charged, Trufano said.

"We need them to understand that they have to be really hyper-cautious, hyper-vigilant with who they're engaged with, their surroundings, if they see anything suspicious, if they hear anything suspicious — they've got to immediately call 9-1-1," he said.