The murder of 18 year-old Joseph "Prince Joe" Sanchez is not just another murder. It's a unique case, possibly the first we've reported on where police found the victim and thought it was a female because he wore a skirt, a sleeveless blouse women's underwear and had the physique, hair, makeup and jewelry of a woman. But it turns out Sanchez was a well known member of the LBGT Community - long recognized for his preference to dress in drag.
Now, that LBGT community says that the 18 year old who identified with a transgender orientation was killed in a hate crime. But the police aren't so sure that he was killed because he dressed like a woman. Today, the deputy commanding officer of Police Precinct 2 told us that the evidence they have suggests that it was a robbery:
ASP Calbert Flowers - Deputy OC, Police Precinct #2
"On Sunday morning January 12, 2014 sometime around 1:50 am police visited Elston Kerr Street where the apparent lifeless body of a person was seen lying face down on the pavement. Initially we thought it was a female. It was dressed in female clothing. However, we shortly discovered that it was a male, due to certain things that were recovered from the scene. The body was examined where officers observed what appeared at the time to be a single stab wound to the chest area."
"The body was transported to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where it was pronounced dead on arrival. An investigation immediately commenced where it was further observed that this person was a male dressed in female clothing. He was later identified as Joseph Sanchez, a 18 year old who reside in that area."
"Investigation so far are leading us in the direction of a robbery. We believe that the motive was a robbery. Initial investigation so far revealed that this person was walking alone on Elston Kerr Street when he was approached by two individual who proceeded to robbed him and in the process of robbing him inflict a single stab wound to the chest area."
Investigators have video footage of the attack and persons who've viewed it told us that Sanchez, while walking on Elston Kerr, realized that the men intended to attack him, so he threw his phone away. The men immediately held him up at knife-point and robbed him of all of his valuables. He didn't resist, and what puzzles investigators is why the assailant with the knife decided to stab Sanchez in the chest before riding off. The entire time that they held him up, he cooperated, and he was absolutely no threat to them.
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