Photo: GoFundMe
A Michigan pastor has been accused of murdering a transgender woman who was found dead in Detroit last week, PEOPLE confirms.
Albert Weathers, 46, is charged with open murder and the use of a firearm in the slaying of 36-year-old Kelly Stough. A police officer discovered her body on Friday,theDetroit Newsreports.
However, after an investigation, authorities arrested Weathers, who also pastors the Logos Baptist Church in Detroit where he reportedly has been a member for 20 years.
Weathers, who lives in Sterling Heights, was arraigned Monday and his bond was set at $1 million. He has not yet entered a plea.
A probable cause conference has been scheduled for Dec. 20.
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Albert Weathers.AP/REX/Shutterstock
“[She] never let it get her down,” her mom told theNews. “She never became bitter. ‘You’re not going to make me feel any less than who I am.’ I respected her so much for that.”
“Her laugh and her smile could brighten up a room,” recalled friend Kecha Jackson. “She was a loving, caring person.”
Activists and human rights groups have also spoken out in the wake of Stough’s death.
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“We must listen to her words and address the factors that continue to foster an epidemic of violence targeting transgender people, particularly transgender women of color,” officials with the Human Rights Campaign saidin a statement. “It is clear that fatal violence disproportionately affects trans women of color, and that the intersections of racism, sexism, homophobia and transphobia conspire to deprive them of necessities to live and thrive.”
AGoFundMe pagehas been created to help cover Stough’s funeral expenses.
source: people.com
