Related To Story TRANSGENDER TEEN SLAYING Video: Verdict Could Precedent Setting Video: Man Found Guilty In Death Of Transgender Woman Video: Verdict Reached In Transgender Slaying Trial |
Suspect's Taped Calls Played In Transgender Slaying Trial
Andrade Had Visited Bisexual Section Of Social Networking Site
POSTED: 11:16 am MDT April 21, 2009
UPDATED: 5:32 pm MDT April 21, 2009
GREELEY, Colo -- Taped jailhouse phone calls reveal a man accused of killing a transgender woman from Greeley had visited the bisexual section of a social networking site.Prosecutors played the tapes for jurors Monday in the trial of 32-year-old Allen Andrade, who is accused of beating to death 18-year-old Angie Zapata.Prosecutor in the case say Andrade killed Zapata out of his dislike for homosexuals, while the defense said Zapata deceived Andrade, and that he snapped when he discovered she was biologically male.
The tapes captured conversations between Andrade and two former girlfriends -- Angie Tyree and Felicia Mendoza -- in the days after his July 30 arrest."That one thing right there was just, it was something that was uncontrollable. I can't explain it. I was outside myself. I wasn't even acting as a coherent person," Andrade had said in one of the phone calls to Mendoza. "Afterward I was shocked, I didn't know what to do. ... It just happened. Nothing like that had ever happened to me in my whole life."Andrade could be heard downplaying Zapata's death and explaining that he wasn't looking for anything on the bisexual portion of the networking site Mocospace, where Zapata and Andrade had met. Mendoza asked him why he would visit the bisexual chat room because people on that site were weird."I wasn't on there looking for nothing like that," Andrade said on the tape. "It was weird."To his other girlfriend, Andrade said the people in jail were afraid of him because of the fire extinguisher. Andrade is accused of beating Zapata to death with a fire extinguisher."There's nothing I can do about it. ... What can I do? I can't cry over spilled milk," Andrade told Tyree in a phone call. "It's not like I went up to a schoolteacher and shot her in the head or ... killed a law-abiding straight citizen."A Colorado Bureau of Investigation agent also testified that Andrade's DNA was found on a vibrator, a cigarette butt and a purse that were all found inside Zapata's apartment. Agent Sarah Lewis said Zapata's DNA was not found on the vibrator and that the DNA from Andrade would have to have come from an intimate area.Testimony on Monday also revealed that Andrade reportedly stole purses from Zapata and gave them to his girlfriend.The case has drawn national attention because it's the first trial to use a hate-crime statute to prosecute the murder of a transgender person.The prosecution rested its case Tuesday afternoon.
Previous Stories:
- April 21, 2009: Zapata Trial Blog: Detective Testifies
- April 17, 2009: Zapata Trial Blog: Opening Statements Begin
- April 17, 2009: Defense: Transgender Slaying All About Deception
- April 16, 2009: Transgender Slaying Trial Under Way With Opening Statements
- April 14, 2009: Trial Begins In Slaying Of Transgender Woman
- April 12, 2009: Groups Hope Trial Brings Focus To Hate-Crimes Law
- April 8, 2009: Transgender Murder Trial First To Use Hate-Crime Status
- March 12, 2009: Judge Throws Out Confession In Transgender Slaying
- October 29, 2008: Man Charged In Transgender Slaying Involved In Jail Fight
- September 18, 2008: Transgender Slaying Suspect: 'Gay Things Need To Die'
- August 6, 2008: Suspect In Transgender Slaying Formally Charged
- July 31, 2008: Suspect Charged With Hate Crime In Transgendered Victim's Death
- July 31, 2008: Arrest Made In Transgender Teen Slaying Case
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