Teen arrested in death of trans woman in Atlanta

A teenager is facing murder, assault, and gun charges in Atlanta in connection with the April 19 killing of a transgender woman, Rasheeda Williams, whose death drew widespread attention in light of her role in a recent documentary called “Kokomo City.”

Jermarcus Jernigan, 17, turned himself in on April 26 and remains in custody for multiple charges tied to the death of Williams, who also went by Koko Da Doll. Police responding to the incident discovered her body at the 2400 Block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW, near Hamilton E. Holmes Drive.

The arrest came after police distributed photos of a man walking towards an apartment building. Jernigan acknowledged that he was in the photos, but denied involvement in the case, according to the Associated Press. 

A witness said she saw Williams arguing with a man before the shots were fired, prompting the woman to run over to the scene. That person has yet to be publicly identified. 

Police are exploring the possibility of a hate crime, according to WSBTV, a local Atlanta television station.

Williams’ death comes amid a years-long string of deadly violence against transgender women across the country, with 38 known cases last year and a record-shattering death toll of 50 last year. She was killed just days after another Atlanta-based Black trans woman, 37-year-old Ashley Burton, was also killed earlier in the month. The Atlanta Police Department said via Facebook on April 20 that authorities have been investigating three separate violent crimes against transgender women, though the department described the cases as “unrelated.”

Williams’ sister, Akeyia Williams, told WSBTV that her sister was a musician whose work was due to be featured on “The Chi,” a Showtime show.

Smith, who directed “Kokomo City” — which follows four Black trans sex workers in New York City and Atlanta — issued a written statement remembering Williams and her work on the show.

“I created Kokomo City because I wanted to show the fun, humanized, natural side of Black trans women,” Smith said on Instagram. “I wanted to create images that didn’t show the trauma or the statistics of murder of Transgender lives. I wanted to create something fresh and inspiring. I did that. We did that! But here we are again. It’s extremely difficult to process Koko’s passing, but as a team we are more encouraged now than ever to inspire the world with her story. To show how beautiful and full of life she was. She will inspire generations to come and will never be forgotten.”

So far in 2023, the Human Rights Campaign has tracked nine murders of trans people nationwide.

Jernigan is being held at the Fulton County Jail.