What happened to Dime Doe? Transgender woman’s murder leads to first federal gender identity-based hate crime trial in the U.S.

In August 2019, Dime Doe, a South Carolina transgender woman, was allegedly shot and killed by her secret lover, Daqua Lameek Ritter. This has led to the first-ever federal gender identity-based hate crime trial in the United States, which commenced on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

The Department of Justice alleged that the man had reportedly killed the transgender woman due to not wanting their relationship to be further exposed. In January 2023, Riiter was hit with three charges, including hate crime, for the murder of Dime Doe, whom he allegedly murdered with a firearm. This charge can carry a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

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Daqua Lameek allegedly tried to hide his relationship with Dime Doe, a transgender woman

According to the Associated Press, Dime Doe was a 24-year-old black transgender woman from Allendale, South Carolina, who, according to her friends, loved to party. Testimony from friends revealed that she had started her transition into a woman after her high school graduation and would hang out with her friends just like any normal person.

However, the trouble started when a New York resident named Daqua Lameek Ritter showed up in her town to live with his grandmother for the summer. Ritter and Doe would eventually grow extremely close together. Delasia Green, Ritter's girlfriend in 2019, testified that she had doubts about their relationship and claimed that Ritter told her that Doe was his cousin.

Green testified that she saw random texts on Ritter's phone, which she assumed was from Doe talking about getting a room. When confronted, Ritter asked Green not to question his sexuality. Doe’s cousin Yanna Albany also testified, saying that she too was in a relationship with Ritter during the same summer but had broken up after Doe told her about herself and Ritter.

Ritter allegedly threatened to beat up the transgender woman and called her a homophobic slur, but their relationship continued smoothly after. AP News reported that texts obtained by the FBI showed Ritter being extremely secretive and cautious about their relationship, requesting her to delete their messages from her phone. However, rumors had already begun about their relationship.

On July 29, 2019, a few days before her death, there was a tense exchange of texts between Doe and Ritter. The former felt like Ritter was not reciprocating her feelings and talked about feeling used. Ritter explained that he thought she did not want the "extra" things.

The police pulled over Dime Doe and Daqua Ritter on August 4, 2019, and Doe, who was driving, received a speeding ticket. She texted her mom in the afternoon, saying that she was fine. However, she was found dead, slumped in her driver's seat, only a few hours later.

Kordell Jenkins, an acquaintance of Ritter, testified that on the day Doe died, he had seen Ritter driving the same car that Doe had driven earlier. He returned later that day with a different outfit and allegedly seemed extremely stressed.

Jenkins also testified that Ritter allegedly emptied a book bag the same day into a barrel that was lit to get rid of mosquitoes. This book bag allegedly contained clothes. Jenkins even testified that Ritter had given him a gun to get rid of the very next day.

Delasia Green, Ritter's girlfriend in 2019, testified that Ritter appeared at her cousin's house a week after the killing and had even smirked when she asked him if he had murdered Doe. According to WJBF, a person named Jamie Presiter also gave testimony, stating that there was a sensitive image on Doe's phone that could have potentially exposed their relationship, which Ritter wanted gone.

A series of Facebook messages were also uncovered between Ritter and his Allendale friend, Xavier Pinckney. The latter had reportedly warned Ritter to stay away from the town as the cops paid him a visit. He also warned that someone might be "snitching."

The Department of Justice alleged that Ritter had shot and killed the transgender woman, Dime Doe, due to her "actual and perceived gender identity." The DOJ alleged that he had used a .22 caliber handgun on the transgender woman after taking her to an isolated spot in Allendale.

In a January 31, 2024, indictment, 26-year-old Daqua Ritter was charged with obstruction of justice, using a firearm in connection with the hate crime, and "hate crime for the murder of a transgender woman because of her gender identity."

The hate crime charge can land Ritter a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Xavier Pinckney was also hit with two obstruction of justice charges for providing misleading and false statements to the investigators.