Aliquippa man charged with homicide in November 2021 death of trans woman
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A man has been charged with homicide in connection with the killing of a trans woman in Aliquippa.
Darese Raines is facing homicide and weapons charges, according to the criminal complaint. He is in the Beaver County Jail held without bond, the Beaver County District Attorney's Office said Friday in a release.
Brandon Murray, known as B, was killed inside an apartment on Linmar Terrace in November 2021. An autopsy found the victim died of multiple gunshot wounds. Murray went by B and identified as trans with some people, friends told KDKA-TV in November 2021.
According to the criminal complaint, a suspect matching Raines' description was caught multiple times on video surveillance in the area of Murray's apartment on Nov. 9, 2021, the day of the shooting. Police later reviewed phone records, which linked Raines to the scene, and found DNA at the scene belonging to Raines that placed him in the apartment before the killing, the district attorney said.
When Raines was interviewed by police in May 2022, he told investigators unprompted that "I didn't kill anyone, I watch the first 48." He later admitted to knowing Murray but said he was not in the victim's apartment the week of the death, according to the charging documents.
He then denied killing the victim and ended the interview with investigators, according to the criminal complaint.