Accused Pleads Not Guilty To Charges He Fatally Shot 19 Year Old Multiple Times After Discovering She Was Transgender

Victoria Carmen White never liked herself as a boy, said her grandmother, Floretta Gayle, and that was the reason White legally changed her name a decade ago at age 19, and decided to undergo a sex-change operation. Life brightened, and with her family’s support, the Newark, New Jersey native pursued a career as a lingerie model. "Whatever she wanted to be, we said, ‘Go for it!’" Gayle said today, as she huddled with several other relatives, including White’s sister, outside a Newark courtroom. While the operation marked a new beginning, White could not escape her past. Tuesday, reports The Star Ledger, the family watched as Alrashim Chambers was arraigned in Superior Court on charges he fatally shot White, 28, inside a Maplewood apartment last year during an evening encounter. The 24 year old Chambers pleaded not guilty to murder, weapons offenses and bias intimidation, for allegedly shooting White multiple times after discovering she was a transgender female, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Eileen O’Connor said. White met Chambers and another man, Marquise Foster, 26, at an Irvington nightclub on the evening of September 12, 2010, and then all three drove to the Maplewood apartment, where the shooting occurred, O’Connor said. Foster has since pleaded guilty to hindering apprehension and faces 5 years in prison. Chambers, a resident of Newark, appeared in court clad in a green Essex County jail uniform, with dreadlocks and a beard. He stood quietly for the hearing, where a dozen of his supporters turned out. They would not comment, nor would his court-appointed attorney. Chambers, who was indicted last month, faces up to life in prison if convicted of murder."To go through all those changes in life just to be who you are, and then have this happen," said Tyra White, Victoria’s aunt. "It’s such a shame."