The third and final suspect in the brutal slaying of a Chicago transgendered woman, and the shooting of her out-of-town guest, was found guilty last week in a Cook County court, and he faces the death penalty at the sentencing Feb. 28 before Judge Toomin at 26th and California.
Michael Key, arrested in Indiana three months after the attack, was convicted of first-degree murder, attempt to commit first-degree murder, and two counts of armed robbery, according to Kate Shaw, LGBT Hate Crime Victim/ Witness Specialist for the Cook County State’s Attorney.
The other two suspects in the case faced trial earlier. William Jones is serving a 20-year sentence, while Spanish ‘Spade’ Brown in serving 40 years. Key was the shooter and therefore he is the one facing the death penalty.
The incident occurred in the early morning hours of July 28, 1999 on the South Side. Buretta Williams was saving up for a sex-change operation, and had told her boyfriend, Spanish ‘Spade’ Brown, that she kept the money in her apartment. Adrian ‘Pebbles’ Perez was visiting Williams from out of town, as she prepared to perform several weeks later in the annual national Miss Continental contest in Chicago.
The suspects arrived and attempted to get Williams to open her safe. Williams claimed not to have the combination, and Key then pointed his gun at her head. He also soon understood that Brown may have intimately known Williams. He made comments such as ‘I’m not letting no fag-ass niggers … call me out,’ indicating he felt his masculinity threatened by the trans women.
Cara Thaxton, Horizons Victim Advocacy Coordinator, said Key then pistol whipped Williams and took jewelry and money from Perez. Key then ordered Brown to tie the women up, and the way Brown was shaking, Perez said she knew things were escalating. Brown also knew a third roommate was used to calling up from the street for Williams to throw her keys down. When this did occur, Perez used the opportunity to scream, Williams said nothing—both actions alerted the roommate to run and call for police.
During the few moments it took police to arrive, Key shot one fatal bullet into Williams’ head, and he shot Perez several times, including in her jaw. Perez lost 80 percent of her blood and no one—including the shooter—thought she would survive the ordeal. Perez had two surgeries her first day, and faced more surgeries and major rehabilitation as time went on. [See related story.]
Because she could not speak, Perez wrote a description of the attackers down for police. She picked out pictures and ultimately returned to Chicago for lineups and trials.
While Key did make anti-gay comments during the attack, Perez and others do not believe this was a hate crime in the normal sense. The motive was clearly greed, and Key’s anxiety was perhaps heightened by homophobia.
During his trial, Key was sullen and quiet. His lawyer offered no defense, since Key had written a letter from jail bragging of the assault to a member of the Gangster Disciples.
Perez seems unaware of any gang connections between her three attackers and organized gangs. The only person present on Key’s behalf at his trial, according to Perez, was Key’s grandmother.
Both the State’s Attorney’s Victim/Witness staff (Vernita Gray prior to Shaw taking over) as well as Horizons’ Victim Witness staff have helped Perez through the ordeal of the initial attack and several trials.
Perez praises Vernita Gray for attending to some of her needs right after the attack. ‘She got me out of the hospital and took me to the hotel where I was staying. She made sure I had something to eat.’ Gray also took her back to the crime scene so Perez could reclaim some of her belongings.
‘She would take me here and there when I got out. She even went in her own pocket and gave me money when she didn’t have to. She went to the apartment with me to get some of my stuff—to the crime scene—because nobody wanted to go. [Returning to the crime scene] was hard. That was hard. I was shaking. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Couldn’t wait to get the van started. It smelled nasty. It smelled like blood in there. It smelled like something dead was in there. Blood smells horrible.’
‘We were very pleased with the verdict. The state’s attorney’s office took this very seriously,’ Shaw said. ‘Pebbles was an unusually strong witness to come back for the lineup, then for three trials. She had a very precise recollection of the events, and was far better than average. She is pretty fearless—an incredible person to have survived and be willing to come back to aide in bringing them to justice.’
Perez, during her victim impact statement in court, asked that Key received natural life in prison, not the death penalty, as punishment for his crimes.
— Also contributing: Cathy Seabaugh