Dallas transgender woman killed: Man sentenced to 48 years in prison for murder
DALLAS - The murder trial for the man who shot and killed a transgender woman in Dallas back in 2019 was over before it got started on Monday.
37-year-old Kendrell Lyles pleaded guilty to murdering Muhlaysia Booker just before jury selection was about to get underway.
He was sentenced to 48 years in prison for the murder.
Booker's family didn't want to speak on camera today, but in a statement the family said this sentence brings closure.
Kendrell Lyles
In May 2019, Booker, a transgender woman, was found dead from a gunshot wound behind the Tenison Park Golf Course in East Dallas.
According to the arrest affidavit, Lyles' car matched the description of a car in which Booker was last seen.
Cellphone records places Lyles at the crime scene and it matched up with Booker's cellphone records after the murder.
At the time, she was fourth Black transgender woman to be murdered in Dallas in 2019.
By the time of Booker's funeral, the number of trans Black women being murdered in Dallas had risen to seven.
Muhlaysia Booker
A month after Booker's death in June, Dallas Police arrested 34-year-old Kendrell Lyles for her murder.
During the investigation, police learned Lyles may have committed two additional murders in May 2019 in Collin County.
Leticia Grant was shot and killed on May 22, 2019.
Witnesses told police Lyles confessed.
On May 23, 2019, Kenneth Chichocki was shot and killed souring a bad drug deal.
Booker's family has been active is bringing attention to the case.
They will have a chance to address Lyles directly during victim impact statements on Thursday morning.
For the two additional murder cases, Lyles has a status hearing on Dec. 22 in Collin County.
Booker made national headlines a month before her death.
She was seen on video being brutally beaten by several men at an East Oak Cliff apartment complex after a minor fender bender.
She had suffered a concussion, fractured wrists and many other injuries.
Edward Thomas was sentenced to almost a year in jail for the misdemeanor assault.
Police say the incident was not related to her murder.