Colorado Man
Charged With Murdering Transgender Woman

A Colorado man is accused of fatally battering a sex partner with a fire extinguisher after discovering that his companion was a transgender woman.

Allen Ray Andrade, 31, faces several charges, including second-degree murder, in the death of Justin Zapata, 20, who was known as Angie Zapata. The victim's bloodied, battered body was discovered in her apartment by her sister on July 17.

Weld County district attorney Ken Buck said Wednesday that he is considering filing first-degree murder charges and may prosecute the death as a hate crime.

Andrade was arrested in the Denver suburb of Thornton, where he lives. Police responding to a noise complaint found him in Zapata's 2003 Chrysler PT Cruiser, which had been missing.

Andrade told investigators that he met Zapata through MocoSpace, a social network designed primarily for cell phone users, according to an arrest affidavit released by Greeley police. The two met July 15 and spent the day together.

Andrade told investigators that Zapata performed oral sex on him but wouldn't let him touch her, according to the affidavit.

He said he also spent the night at Zapata's apartment, but in separate beds. The next day, Zapata left Andrade alone in her apartment, and Andrade noticed several photographs that led him to question Zapata's gender.

Andrade confronted Zapata when she got back. He grabbed Zapata's crotch area, felt male genitalia and became angry, the affidavit says. He told investigators that he took a fire extinguisher off a shelf, struck Zapata twice in the head, and thought he ''killed it.''

''It's disgusting,'' Greeley, Colo., police chief Jerry Garner said of Andrade's reference to Zapata. ''It's a horrible thing to say.''

Andrade told investigators he covered Zapata with a blanket and started gathering evidence he thought might link him to the crime when he heard gurgling sounds and noticed Zapata was sitting up. That's when he picked up the fire extinguisher and hit her again, police said. He left the scene in her car.

Zapata's sister, Monica Murguia, couldn't be reached for comment on Andrade's arrest. She told Denver's KDVR-TV that Andrade deserved to remain behind bars forever.

''He took a part of our heart, he did, when he killed her,'' she said after reading the arrest affidavit.

A guard at the jail said information about whether Andrade had an attorney was not available. There was no telephone listing for him in Thornton. (P. Solomon Banda, AP)