In the city of Louisville, Kentucky, a young woman's journey for a safer life came to a tragic end. Zachee Iitwitaho, a 26-year-old Black transgender woman who had immigrated to the United States from Rwanda in 2019, was fatally shot on February 3, 2023. Remembered by those who knew her as a happy and smiling person who was always loving and willing to help others, her life was cut short in the very place she sought refuge and opportunity.
The fatal incident occurred in the parking lot
of the JBS Foods plant, where Zachee worked. As she was leaving her job, she was gunned down. The quiet afternoon was shattered by the violence, leaving her friends, family, and the local community in shock and mourning. The senselessness of the act reverberated through a community that had welcomed her. In the days that followed, a candlelight vigil was held to honor her memory, with numerous advocacy and support groups in Louisville joining her loved ones to pay their respects.
Shortly after the shooting, a suspect turned himself into the Louisville Metro Corrections. The man, identified as Edilberto Lores Reyes, was a coworker of Zachee's at the JBS plant. According to reports, Reyes confessed to the killing. Investigators were able to find the firearm in his vehicle, which he had parked outside the corrections facility. Further evidence reportedly came from surveillance footage that captured the shooting and showed the perpetrator, wearing the same clothes as Reyes, fleeing the scene in the same car he drove to turn himself in.
Despite the confession and evidence, Edilberto Lores Reyes pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder. The motive for the killing has not been publicly released as the investigation continues. The relationship between Zachee and Reyes, beyond being coworkers, remains unclear. Reyes was being held on a $100,000 bond as he awaited further court proceedings. The case has drawn attention from advocacy groups who highlight the disproportionate violence faced by transgender people, particularly Black transgender women.
