The passing of Dime Doe, a Black transgender woman, on August 4, 2019, has become the focal point of the nation's inaugural federal trial centered on an alleged hate crime premised on gender identity.
Doe, the operator of the vehicle, and her clandestine romantic interest, Daqua Lameek Ritter, found themselves pulled over in rural South Carolina. Doe, conscious of her prior infractions and keen to avoid further driving-related penalties, was apprehensive. Meanwhile, Ritter, whom she affectionately referred to as "my man," frequently relied on her for transportation.
Initial reports seemed reassuring: Doe notified her mother via text message that she had received a $72 citation but was "right."
However, several hours later, law enforcement discovered her lifeless form slouched in the driver's seat of her car, stationed along a secluded roadway. Her demise, occurring on August 4, 2019, has now become the focal point of the nation's inaugural federal trial on an alleged hate crime grounded in gender identity, which commenced on Tuesday.
While much remains obscure regarding the events unfolding during the approximately two-and-a-half-hour interlude between Doe's last sighting and the unearthing of her remains, the ongoing prosecution is gradually illuminating the concealed rapport between the 24-year-old Doe — recollected by acquaintances as an outspoken reveler known for her extended lashes and blunt bob hairdos — and Ritter, an individual whose distinctively tattooed left wrist is captured in body camera footage from the traffic stop.
The US Department of Justice contends that Ritter fatally discharged a firearm at Doe to forestall further disclosure of their liaison within a small rural enclave where rumors were already circulating. Text message exchanges between the pair indicate Ritter's attempts to quash rumors of their liaison in the weeks leading up to Doe's demise. Concurrently, he monitored the progress of the investigation into her demise while evasively addressing queries from his steady girlfriend, as per trial testimonies.
It was no secret in Allendale, South Carolina — a locale inhabited by roughly 8,000 residents — that Doe had embarked on her social transition as a woman shortly after completing high school, as attested by testimonies from her close associates. Following her graduation, Doe commenced dressing in skirts, adorning her nails, and donning extensions. She and her companions frequently patronized drinking establishments and conversed about their romantic interests.
One of these romantic interests was Ritter, who journeyed from New York to reside with his grandmother in Allendale during the summer months. Doe and Ritter cultivated a burgeoning bond during these seasonal sojourns, leaving Ritter's summer paramour, Delasia Green, with an intuition that something was amiss.
Initially, Ritter informed Green that he and Doe were cousins, and Green testified during the trial this week. However, suspicions were aroused when Green stumbled upon messages on Ritter's phone from an unlisted number suggesting arrangements for securing accommodations. Presuming the messages originated from Doe, Green confronted Ritter, prompting a defensive reaction regarding his sexual orientation.
Yanna Albany, Doe's cousin, testified that she too was involved with Ritter during that summer but terminated the relationship after approximately three weeks upon learning that Doe was also seeing him. Albany recounted how Ritter, upon learning of her breakup with him, turned crimson with rage, threatened to assault Doe for "falsely accusing him," and resorted to a homophobic epithet.
Despite this altercation, Doe's liaison with Ritter appeared to strengthen thereafter, as indicated by Albany. Other associates of Doe averred that she never divulged any discord between the two.
Nevertheless, text messages obtained by the FBI suggest Ritter endeavored to conceal their relationship as much as possible. He frequently urged Doe to delete their correspondences from her phone, with a substantial portion of the hundreds of texts exchanged in the month preceding her demise subsequently expunged.
The tenor of the text exchanges grew increasingly fraught in the days leading up to Doe's demise. In a message sent on July 29, 2019, she lamented Ritter's failure to reciprocate her kindness towards him. In response, Ritter indicated a belief that they had mutually agreed to forgo "superfluous gestures." He also recounted an incident where Green purportedly directed a homophobic slur towards him. In a subsequent message on July 31, Doe expressed feeling exploited and admonished Ritter for allowing his girlfriend to discover their relationship.
In defense of Ritter, his legal representatives argued that the selection of messages introduced by the prosecution offered only a limited glimpse into their exchanges. They cited a July 18 text in which Doe expressed encouragement towards Ritter, along with another message where Ritter expressed gratitude to Doe for her acts of kindness.
However, witnesses provided additional incriminating testimonies against Ritter.
On the day of Doe's demise, a group of acquaintances observed the defendant departing in a silver vehicle with tinted windows — a car that an associate of Ritter, Kordell Jenkins, affirmed he had previously seen Doe operating. Upon Ritter's return several hours later, Jenkins recounted that he observed Ritter clad in fresh attire and displaying signs of agitation. Despite the oppressive summer heat, the quartet initiated the construction of a fire pit to ward off mosquitoes.
At one juncture, Ritter purportedly emptied the contents of his book bag into the fire pit, Jenkins testified. Although the contents were obscured from view, Jenkins presumed them to be discarded items, possibly comprising the clothing Ritter had worn earlier in the day.
Upon encountering each other the following day, Jenkins claimed to have observed the metallic handle of a small firearm protruding from Ritter's waistband. Ritter purportedly implored Jenkins to dispose of the firearm.
In rebuttal, Ritter's defense team deemed it implausible that he would entrust an individual he scarcely knew with the disposal of an alleged murder weapon.
However, word quickly spread throughout Allendale following Doe's demise, with rumors implicating Ritter in her demise.
Green attested that when Ritter visited her cousin's residence in Columbia later that week, he appeared disheveled, malodorous, and agitated. Green's cousin's boyfriend provided Ritter with transportation to the bus station, presumably facilitating his return to New York. Before his departure, Green confronted Ritter about Doe's demise.
"He lowered his gaze and smirked," Green recounted.
Subsequently, Ritter monitored the fallout from Doe's demise in New York, as evidenced by Facebook exchanges between Ritter and a mutual acquaintance from Allendale, Xavier Pinckney. On August 11, Pinckney informed Ritter that there was minimal discussion surrounding the incident, which FBI Special Agent Clay Trippi interpreted as indicative of a reluctance to cooperate with law enforcement.
By August 14, Pinckney cautioned Ritter against returning to Allendale following a visit from state police. Pinckney later intimated that someone was "informing."
Trippi averred that after Doe's demise, Ritter was not sighted in Allendale during subsequent summers.
In January 2023, federal authorities charged Ritter with a hate crime related to the murder of a transgender woman due to her gender identity, along with additional charges of employing a firearm in conjunction with the purported hate crime and obstructing justice. Pinckney was also charged with obstruction of justice for providing false and misleading statements.
