Early Saturday morning, Yazmin Vash Payne was found fatally stabbed in her Los Angeles County apartment. Firefighters responded to a small fire in a back room of the Van Nuys-area home, where upon they discovered her body. According to the LAPD, the 33-year-old transgender woman of color was stabbed "multiple times" and paramedics pronounced Payne dead at the scene.
Payne's boyfriend, Ezekiel Dear, is considered a person of interest in the murder, and has turned himself into the LAPD. Payne and Ezekiel shared the apartment, and neighbors report hearing arguing leading up to the discovery of Payne's body. Reports about the murder and subsequent arrest are ongoing.
This marks the fifth known murder of an LGBT person of color so far in 2015, and the third killing of a transgender woman of color in Southern California in the past four months.
Several reports include problematic language and information concerning Payne. If you are aware of any defamation in regards to this story, please report it to GLAAD. Journalists covering this story can refer to GLAAD's guide for reporting on transgender victims of crime.