Allen Andrade

Allen Andrade -- Accused murderer of transgender teen

By Jake on

Allen Andrade is accused of murdering Angie Zapata, an 18-year old Latina transgender woman after discovering she was born a man. The murder trial of Allen Andrade began today, accused of murdering Angie Zapata, an 18-year old Latina transgender woman. Andrade is accused of murdering Zapata after discovering she was born a man.

Two very different stories are emerging, with prosectuors saying that Andrade was a homophobe who took out his rage on Zapata, and defense attorneys saying Andrade was the victim of Zapata's deception.

From an article in the Greeley Tribune:
Prosecutors on Thursday painted a picture of Allen Andrade as a homophobe lying in wait to kill his prey because of a severe hatred of homosexuals, while defense attorneys told jurors Andrade was stunned and motivated by a deception of the worst kind.

Andrade, on trial for first-degree murder in the death of Angie Zapata, admits that he snapped when he found out Zapata was biologically male on July 16 after spending three days with her. That night, police say, he struck her repeatedly with a fire extinguisher, disfiguring her head. She was pronounced dead the next day after her sister found her on the floor of her Greeley apartment.

Public defender Brad Martin said Zapata, who was born a male and whose given name was Justin, looked so convincingly female that it was difficult for anyone to see her as a male.

“The evidence will show that Allen had no idea until right before he started hitting Justin that the person he thought was a she was not,” Martin said in his opening statements Thursday.