by Joseph Erbentraut
EDGE Contributor
Thursday May 20, 2010
While mainstream media’s news reports of Dana A. “Chanel” Larkin’s murder on Friday, May 7, in Milwaukee have focused on the alleged perpetrator’s version of what he said happened, the crime’s scant media coverage has offered little to no information on who she was.
According to those who did know her, Larkin, 26, was a young transgender woman of color who loved her family and friends. She had turned to sex work to make ends meet.
Milwaukee prosecutors contend Andrew Olacirequi had met Larkin on the street late Thursday, May 6, while he was driving around the city looking for a prostitute. He reportedly encountered Larkin near North 27th Street and North Avenue around 1 a.m. on May 7, and offered her $20 to perform a sex act. Larkin reportedly asked the suspect if “it was OK with him actually being a man.” Olacirequi allegedly pulled out a .357-caliber revolver when Larkin reportedly made an advance on him and shot her in three times in the head.
Larkin was found dead on the sidewalk of North 23rd Street, and police arrested Olacirequi after he returned to the crime scene to look for a lost cell phone. Prosecutors have charged him with first-degree reckless homicide and use of a dangerous weapon; he faces up to 65 years in prison.
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