Marisela Castro
Age 3929 Jul 2022
Houston, Texas (USA)
Shot
TDoR list ref: tgeu/tdor2022/29-Jul-2022/Marsiela Castro
Marisela was shot in the back after she got out of a car. Her killer then got back into the car and drove away.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Police are searching for two people who were with a transgender woman when she was shot and killed in an east Houston neighborhood overnight -- including the gunman.
The shooting happened very quickly, in just 10 seconds, according to Houston police detectives.
The victim was shot in the back in the middle of Wood Shadows Drive near the East Freeway around 1:45 a.m. Friday, police said.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Detectives said the victim was driving her car -- a four-door maroon Chrysler 200 -- with two other people also inside.
Police said the woman stopped the car on Centerwood Drive at Wood Shadows Drive, and she and a man got out.
That's when the suspect fired one shot from behind before getting back in the car and taking off, according to HPD.
"Our victim stepped out of the vehicle, was driving another person - it's hard to say - they were dressed in black, possibly a male," Det. Sgt. Thomas Simmons said. "They got out of the backseat. There was one gunshot fired. The victim fell. The suspect returned to the back of the vehicle. The vehicle left."
Police said the two suspects abandoned the victim's car two blocks away on a dead-end street.
Investigators believe the shooting has no connection to the surrounding homes in the neighborhood.
They're reviewing surveillance video, hoping to get a better look at exactly what happened.
The victim's car was towed away from the scene and is being processed.
Marisela Castro, 39, was born in Juticalpa, Olancho in Honduras. She spent most of her life in North Carolina where she attended Riverside High School, moved to Houston several years ago to be close to her sister and her nieces and nephews, She was a supporter of St. Jude’s Hospital and a fan of Bad Bunny. Marisela worked in the construction trades.
Friends shared the she often sang songs by the Mexican American artist “Marisela,” her namesake. She kept up a bright and sunny demeanor despite the discrimination she faced.
Her friend Jorge Luis Lizardo knows the violence she faced and that it may have cost her life.
She had no enemies, according to Lizardo, who suspects that her death was the result of another senseless hate crime.
“She was always so happy, but you know that all across the U.S. there are many that don’t like transgender people, and this is not the first time this has happened,” he said.
Marisela is the 4th trans woman in Houston murdered since December including Martina Caldera and Za’Niyah Williams in December and Paloma Velasquz in February.
In March 2023 a 17-year old suspect was arrested. Police are also seeking a second suspect.
Houston police announced on Thursday that a 17-year-old, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, is now in custody on a capital murder charge. But police believe the 17-year-old was not the one who shot Castro and authorities say they’re still searching for the unidentified second suspect.
Police would not comment on a possible motive.
https://abc7.com/teen-arrested-in-murder-of-transgender-woman/12969263/
https://meaww.com/marisela-castro-boy-17-arrested-after-trans-woman-was-found-dead-outside-her-home
https://www.advocate.com/crime/2022/8/03/trans-women-killed-houston-milwaukee
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2022/08/03/trans-woman-marisela-castro-texas-killed/
https://abc13.com/houston-crime-marisela-castro-transgender-woman-murdered-elia-chino/12099636/
https://www.pghlesbian.com/2022/07/marisela-castro-39-fatally-shot-in-houston/
https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/2022/08/murdered-trans-woman-is-identified/
https://abc13.com/mujer-muere-homicidio-mega-millions-inundaciones-kentucky-will-smith/12082593/
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/houston-deadly-shooting-wood-shadows-transgender-woman-killed
https://www.yahoo.com/now/2-people-wanted-deadly-shooting-121831576.html
https://twitter.com/houstonpolice/status/1552915049043427328
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=la-prUoyozk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJVuXTEvdK0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrAqmqr8RqA
