11/6/21

Three Men Arrested For the Beating of a Corvallis Transgender woman

(From left to right: Dylan Guido, Riley Westbrooks, Kyle Rackley)

 Three men have been arrested and charged with a hate crime for the October 24th beating of transgender woman Charlotte Osieczanek, an overnight 7-Eleven clerk in Corvallis Oregon.

  • Dylan Guido, 21, of Roseburg was charged with first-degree bias crime and third-degree assault.
  • Riley Westbrooks, 21, of Myrtle Creek was charged with first-degree bias crime and third-degree assault
  • Kyle Rackley, 22, of Sutherlin was charged with third-degree assault.

  • A bias crime in the first degree is a Class C felony. Third-degree assault in Oregon is a Class C felony that has consequences of up to 5 years of jail time and up to $125,000 in fines.

     Dylan Guido and Riley Westbrooks are charged with Bias Crime in the First Degree for "intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing physical injury to another person because of the person’s perception of the other person’s race, color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or national origin."

     The transgender community was deeply concerned that Corvallis police were not pursuing the case as diligently as they would have if a cisgender person had been the victim.

    Two images of the assailants were widely disseminated on Twitter entering the 7-11 the day the crime occurred. The entire attack was well documented by the store's security cameras. And two of the suspects were named on Twitter leaving many to wonder why the men were not taken into custody immediately.

     Chief Nick Hurley thanked the public for their help and issued the following statement:

     "Corvallis PD takes all cases of hate and violence seriously and our Officers and Detectives have been working on this case since it was reported. CPD’s commitment to our community is to conduct professional and impartial investigations recognizing the community’s concern for safety and justice. We extend our thanks to the members of the community who stood up to hate and assisted us in identifying the individuals involved in this case." 

     Oregon State University confirmed on Twitter that one of the people arrested was a student there until May 2020.

    11/3/21

    Transgender woman's throat slashed in Tbilisi, Georgia, suspect arrested

    Photo / rustavi2.ge/ka/news

      On the night of November 1, 2021, a 38-year-old transwoman by the name of A.G. was murdered in a Thai massage salon in Tbilisi, Georgia. 

    The suspect stabbed her in her throat after she refused to provide services not offered by the business.

    Employees of the center recall the incident in detail. They recount that a confrontation took place between the massage specialist and the customer after the customer requested additional services in addition to the massage, which he was refused.

     "Everything happened very quickly, someone knocked, the girl opened it, then a man stabbed her in the throat. We did not know this man before, we had not seen him. It happened, we know nothing more. The dead girl had no problem with anyone, she was a very good person." - said one of the employees of the center.
    Photo / Front News 
    Front News reports that Georgian police have arrested 23-year-old man for stabbing a 38-year-old Thai transgender woman in one of the massage centres in central Tbilisi on Sunday and for injuring another transgender woman in the same centre. 

     The detainee, who is allegedly a citizen of Georgia, has been charged with premeditated murder and may face 7 to 15 years in prsion if found guilty.

    The massage centre employees say that the citizen of Thailand arrived in Georgia two weeks ago. They said that three individuals came to the centre on October 31 and left after some time. However, one of them, who allegedly was denied to receive a particular service, returned with a knife and stabbed two employees of the centre.

    The health condition of another injured transgender woman is stable.