A downlow trade man from South Carolina is fully out of the closet after being convicted by a jury for the murder of a transgender individual. They were in a secret romantic relationship until she revealed their relationship on social media.
The embarrassment of it all led Daqua Lameek Ritter, also known as “Quavo,” to lure his black transgender girlfriend into the woods of rural Allendale, South Carolina, where he shot her in the head three times. Prosecutors said the only reason Ritter did this was because Dime Doe was transgender.
Doe was 24 years old at the time of her untimely death. Ritter was also found guilty of tampering with a witness, victim,or informant, as well as a single firearm charge. When a grand jury indicted Ritter, they found and agreed that he knowingly lied to the police on the day Dime Doe was murdered.
According to court documents, Ritter claimed that he had not been in Doe’s car during an August 2019 traffic stop, just three hours before Doe’s murder and approximately 3.5 miles away from where her body was ultimately found. Court documents also stated that Ritter lied multiple times to the police about his whereabouts.
Upon discovering Doe, the police reported that she was found inside a parked car with three gunshot wounds to her head.It took jurors only five hours to become fed up with Ritter and send him to prison. According to NBC affiliate WIS in Columbia, South Carolina, the family of Doe emitted an audible gasp inside the courtroom when the verdict was read.
It took over twenty witnesses to help convict Ritter, supported by evidence that his girlfriend, Delasia Green, remembered his explosive reactions when his sexuality was questioned.
Whispers on the streets suggested Ritter was involved with a transgender individual, leading to threats towards Doe if she spoke out about their relationship. Ritter’s uncle, residing near where Doe’s body was discovered, alerted the authorities to the grim finding.
In an attempt to cover his tracks, Ritter burned his murder attire and tried to conceal the weapon used in the crime. However, witnesses, including a cousin who testified against him, claimed Ritter confessed to the killing.
Ritter begged his cousin to keep the gruesome truth hidden, as reported by WIS on February 22nd. The Justice Department revealed that Ritter’s trial marked the first prosecution under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a law passed in 2009 to address federal hate crimes based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
A sentencing date for Ritter is yet to be determined.
