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Florida man gets 30 years in prison for murder of transgender woman

Florida man gets 30 years in prison for murder of transgender woman

ORLANDO, Fla. — A Florida man who was found guilty in the shooting death of a transgender woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Kentz Louis
Kentz Louis Orlando Sentinel

Kentz Vernes Louis, 23, was convicted of murdering Ashley Sinclair, whose body was found on April 4, 2013, in a wooded area in Orange County, Fla.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that because Louis is a prison-releasee reoffender, he will serve his entire sentence, less time already served in county jail.

“You took my child, but you didn’t break me,” Sinclair’s mother, Angela Smith, told Louis at the sentencing on Dec. 18. “You can’t break me.”

Sinclair was known by the stage name Mahogany Singleton and was popular in the local LGBT community for her performances.

Authorities did not publicly identify a motive for the shooting, but said Sinclair and Louis were acquaintances.

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