Vallum and mercedes12/28/2023 ![]() Vallum could face life in prison without parole. That is where they believe the attack happened. In early June 2015, Mercedes’s alleged assailant, 28-year-old Josh Vallum, who was her boyfriend, told his father that he had killed someone and buried that person in the field behind his dad’s. Prosecutors say Vallum lured Williamson into a car in Alabama and took him to his family home in Lucedale, Mississippi. A roommate claimed Vallum and Williamson were a couple and that Vallum knew his victim’s secret long before the murder. Even as Vallum’s sentencing seemed to close the murder case, however, questions remained about his account of the killing. Her remains were found Jin George County, Mississippi. I killed Mercedes Williamson, sir, the 28-year-old told the judge, WLOX reported. ![]() Homosexuality is banned in the gang and punishable by death. US District Judge Louis Guirola Jr could have ordered life in prison without parole for Joshua Vallum, 29, who pleaded guilty in December to hate crimes charges for murdering 17-year-old Mercedes. Michael Christopher Wilkins was a 17-year-old transgender teen, whose chosen name was Mercedes Williamson. Vallum was believed to be having sex with Williamson and was afraid members of his gang, the Latin Kings, would find out an punish him. The outcome of this case would not have been possible without the partnership between local, state and federal law enforcement.” “The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States, and we will continue to pursue that mission in Mississippi. “Crimes motivated by hate have devastating effects on the victims, their families and community, but also leave a blemish on our society as a whole,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Freeze. “The Justice Department will continue its efforts to vindicate the rights of those individuals who are affected by bias motivated crimes.” “Today’s sentencing reflects the importance of holding individuals accountable when they commit violent acts against transgender individuals,” said Attorney General Jeff Sessions. history that someone has been sentenced for hate crime charges for killing a transgender person. He made his plea in December to the 2015 crime. Williamson was 17 years old and resided in Alabama at the time of her death. Alano A Mississippi man was sentenced to 49 years in prison on Monday, 15. Vallum has plead guilty to killing 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson, a transgender woman. Joshua Brandon Vallum, 29, of Lucedale, Mississippi, pleaded guilty today to a federal hate crime for assaulting and murdering Mercedes Williamson because she was a transgender woman. 05/17/17 AT 10:29 AM Joshua Vallum killed 17-year-old Mercedes Williamson in 2015 - Representational Image REUTERS/Janis C. Earlier on Monday, a federal judge had sentenced 29-year-old Joshua Vallum to. He was sentenced to 49 years for the crime. His statement comes in connection with the first ever federal conviction for the perpetrator of an anti-trans killing. on Monday in Gulfport for hate crime charges. Joshua Vallum appeared before a federal judge at 1:30 p.m.
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