TDoR 2017 / 2016 / October / 22 / Sierra/Simon Bush


Sierra/Simon Bush

Age 18

22 Oct 2016
Idaho City (USA)
Asphyxiated

TDoR list ref: tgeu/22-Oct-2016/Sierra/Simon Bush

Sierra/Simon Bush
Sierra/Simon Bush

Sierra/Simon was found dead in a creek after being missing for a month. The mother and stepfather stated they felt from the very beginning that this was a kidnapping case.

61-year-old Bruce Marchant, a convicted felon, was later apprehended by authorities in a VA hospital after a long investigation and charged with their murder. He pleaded guilty to the charges after accepting a plea bargain for additional charges related to the victim's murder.

Sierra/Simon was genderfluid and usually preferred gender-neutral pronouns.

Sierra Bush had [their] whole life ahead of [them]. A star student who just began her first year at Boise State University, Bush was known for inspiring people to be unashamed of who they are. Fellow students said [they] made them feel safe.

But on Sept. 24, the 18-year-old freshman—who also went by “Simon” and who, according to friends, alternated gender identities—went missing. [Their] family believed [they were] the victim of a crime; it wasn’t like the engineering major to run away or engage in risky behavior. [Their] stepfather, Bart Green, told the Idaho Statesman that he and Bush’s mother “have felt from the very beginning that this is an abduction case.”

Their worst fears came true one month later, when police discovered Bush’s body in a creek about 30 miles away, outside of Idaho City. Since then, cops called [their] death “suspicious” but released few further details.

On Thursday, Boise detectives flew to New York City to cuff Bush’s suspected killer, a 61-year-old felon, and charged him with kidnapping, rape and murder. The suspect, Bruce Marchant, was arrested at a VA hospital in Manhattan that afternoon, an NYPD spokesman told The Daily Beast.

It’s unclear what ties, if any, Marchant has to the East Coast. An exhaustive probe, which consisted of nearly 200 interviews and crime lab results, led Boise cops to Marchant. Authorities have yet to share specifics on the case.

“Detectives who were working on this case had been investigating Mr. Marchant for a while,” said Brian Naugle, a deputy prosecutor in Ada County, which is pursuing the case. “They were keeping tabs on his whereabouts throughout the investigation.”

TvT project: IDAHO Statesman, 26.10.2016 & 08.12.2016

https://www.thedailybeast.com/murdered-boise-student-sierra-bush-was-gender-fluid-inspired-others-to-be-true-to-themselves

https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/crime/man-charged-in-death-of-sierra-bush-arrested-in-nyc/277-366588039

https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/crime/she-wasnt-breathing-anymore-man-pleads-guilty-to-killing-boise-state-student/277-471197233

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3873178/Body-college-student-18-missing-month-hour-away-disappeared-home.html

https://people.com/human-interest/sierra-bush-idaho-student-dead/

https://www.advocate.com/transgender/2016/11/15/two-more-transgender-deaths-reported-possible-homicides

https://idahonews.com/news/local/boise-pd-man-arrested-for-the-death-of-sierra-bush

Report added: 1 Sep 2018. Last updated: 8 Oct 2022

Trigger warning

This site contains reports of violence against transgender people, and links to detailed reports which contain graphic imagery.

Please continue with caution.

Continue

Get me out of here!