Washington, 40, was shot four times on the 3400 block of North 11th Street in the Franklinville neighborhood of North Philly. She died at Temple University Hospital. The district attorney's office did not prosecute the case as a hate crime, according to Assistant District Attorney Chesley Lightsey.
"We do not believe that Ms. Washington was killed because she was a transgender woman," Lightsey said during a news conference Monday at the William Way LGBT Community Center on Spruce Street.
"Certain cases may not be hate crimes, (but) there's definitely hate against trans women," added Kelly Burkhardt, an LGTBQ+ liaison for the district attorney's office. "The average life expectancy of a trans woman, especially a trans woman of color, is 35 years old."