Dallas County jury finds man guilty of killing Black transgender woman in 2019

Tamaya Lindsey and Stephanie Davis Usman felt immediate relief Wednesday when a Dallas County jury convicted Ruben Alvarado, 24, in the slaying of their cousin Chynal Lindsey, a Black transgender woman.

“It’s bittersweet,” Davis Usman said after the verdict, adding that two young people “lost their lives in two different ways.”

Tamaya Lindsey, overcome with emotion, hung her head and was embraced by prosecutor LaQuita Long following the verdict, which was unanimous. The jury deliberated for about two hours.

Alvarado beat and strangled Lindsey, 26, in June 2019 after picking her up from Arlington to have sex with her. In his testimony, Alvarado said he killed Lindsey after he learned that she was transgender.

Lindsey’s body was pulled from White Rock Lake. According to autopsy reports and crime scene evidence, she was found with a belt around her neck and had hemorrhages in her brain.

Alvarado testified Tuesday that he and Lindsey had met on a dating app and spoken a few times before meeting in person. He said he was under the impression that she was a cisgender woman when he picked her up in Arlington.

After getting food, they drove to his apartment in Mesquite to charge his phone, he testified. Alvarado said he then drove to White Rock Lake, and when they climbed into the back seat of his Ford Explorer he said that something “wasn’t right.”

Lindsey got on top of him and got aggressive when he confronted her, he testified, and he got scared and started to fight back. Alvarado testified he was able to get on top of Lindsey, take off his belt, wrap it around her neck and strangle her.

Alvarado said he panicked and dumped Lindsey’s body in the lake.

Forensic test results presented to jurors Tuesday found traces of blood and other bodily fluids that matched Alvarado and Lindsey on fabric taken from Alvarado’s SUV.

During closing arguments, prosecutors said Alvarado did not act in self-defense when he killed Lindsey, claiming that his actions were not necessary to protect himself.

Defense lawyer Richard Franklin said that during the struggle in Alvarado’s car, Alvarado was protecting himself from getting hurt. Franklin also said that Lindsey had lied to Alvarado about her gender and that she may have had mental-health issues.

But Tamaya Lndsey said her cousin was a free and gentle spirit. She said she had to leave the courtroom during the closing arguments because she didn’t want to listen to what Franklin was saying.

“She was super-harmless,” Tamaya Lindsey said. “That’s why I had to leave. … She was not violent at all.”

Prosecutor Melody Louis later called Alvarado a monster for leaving Lindsey in the water after killing her. Louis also stressed that Lindsey’s gender was not on trial, but rather the fact that her life was cut short.

“We don’t have to agree on a lot of different things,” Louis said. “But we must agree on a monster not being put back on the street.”

During the punishment phase of the trial, which began Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors presented evidence of Alvarado’s behavior while in jail. Several witnesses said that Alvarado had gotten into fights and was tattooing other inmates.

The defense said that fights and tattooing are common in jails.

The punishment phase of Alvarado’s trial will resume Thursday. He faces up to life in prison.