Houston, Texas (KTRK) – Two years after the murder of a 22-year-old transgender woman, Houston police arrested a suspect Thursday.
Jermal Richards, 32, is now charged with the murder of Asia Foster after he dumped her body on a side road west of the Houston Galleria in November 2020.
“I just want him to pass the time,” said Bird Foster, Asia’s mother. “I want to see him wake up every day behind bars. He has to see him every day, the rest of this life.”
On Thursday, Asya’s mother and relatives received calls from investigators about the arrest. According to court documents, Asia Foster Richards met at his apartment complex near the Galleria the evening she was murdered.
RELATED: Transgender woman identified as murder victim in southwest Houston
Soon after, she was found shot dead near Greenridge Street.
Relatives wondered if Asia would be another statistic in the horrific murders of transgender women.
“A lot of transgender women are targeted, and they fear for their lives all the time,” said Cynthia Gee, the aunt who raised Asia. “Why, why? They are just human beings, trying to live their lives, and there is hate.”
“It’s definitely an epidemic,” said Baird, and she’s always accepted Asia for what it is. “Why? The hate you feel for someone is that someone else lives another way. It’s not your life. They just want to live their life somehow.”
Bird Foster says she’s always been in touch with investigators as they work on the case, but the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed most of the case.
With the pandemic restrictions lifted, investigators were able to find and confirm a DNA match. They say that Richards’ DNA was found in Asia’s body.
“They told me they had an absolute match and that’s why he’s under arrest,” Bird said.
See also: Activists speak out about violence against the transgender community in Houston after the woman’s murder
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