Minneapolis police are investigating the homicide of a 45-year-old transgender person was found stabbed to death Tuesday in her apartment.
The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office has identified the victim as Christopher P. Bates, whom friends and neighbors knew as Chrissy.
A spokesperson with Outfront Minnesota confirmed that Bates was a transgender woman who was known by the name ‘Chrissy.’ Anti-Violence Program Coordinator Rebecca Waggoner says the victim lived alone and was new to the city. Friends describe Chrissy as a warm, caring, loving member of the community, reports KARE-TV.
Despite the description of Bates as transgender, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department says there is currently nothing to suggest that the murder was a hate crime, or connected with some kind of gender bias.
Bates’ body was discovered by a caretaker, who entered her apartment after a worried friend called to check on Bates’ well-being.
Police said Bates had stab wounds, while the medical examiner said the cause of death was “complex homicidal violence,” suggesting more than one cause.
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The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported that a phone number listed for Bates matches advertisements on Backpage.com for transsexual escorts in the Minneapolis area. Bates, listed as “Krissy” in the ads, advertised massage therapy and massage services by a “classy and sassy southern belle” who is “very passionate, intimate and sweet.”
One neighbor said Bates was concerned about her safety and offered to pay him for protection.
