Arkansas Sheriff Speculates Transgender Murder Result Of Sexual Encounter Gone Awry; FBI Continues To Investigate Horrific Killing As Hate Crime

KUAR-FM 89 News interviews St. St. Francis County Arkansas Sheriff Bobby May, who says the murder of a transgender woman was likely not a hate crime, however an FBI spokesman says they are continuing to investigate the case as a possible civil rights violation or a possible hate crime. May says preliminary autopsy results indicate that 25 year old Marcal Camero Tye died of a gunshot to the head. Two 32 calibre shell casings were found at the scene of the crime. He adds that early reports Tye was dragged behind a vehicle were misleading. The sheriff says Tye's body was caught beneath to the suspect's vehicle and dragged some 300 feet. May says there was evidence the suspect stopped the vehicle and backed up trying to dislodge the body from beneath the car. May says there was no indication that Tye was dragged by a rope or chain. Tye was born a man but had been living in Forrest City as a woman. Though Mays says he has not ruled out anything, he continues to believe this is a routine murder case and not a hate crime, offering conjectured that Tye might have been out seeking a sexual encounter at 2:00 am, and then become involved in a liaison that turned violent. FBI spokesman Steve Frazier says he cannot comment on the sheriff's remarks, but stresses FBI agents are still actively investigating the case as a possible hate crime or civil rights violation. In addition to the shell casings, police took plaster casts of tire tracks found at the scene of the crime.