A man is facing possible murder charges after he savagely beat a transgendered woman into a coma before she was finally taken off life support yesterday, police sources said.
Islan Nettles, 21, was hanging out with a group of other transgendered women along Eighth Avenue near 147th Street at around midnight last Saturday when she was approached by a group of men, police said.
Paris Wilson, 20, is said to have made a pass at Nettles and was shocked to learn she was not born a woman, sources said.
Humiliated in front of his crew, Wilson then got into a heated argument with Nettles and the other women, hurling derogatory slurs at the group.
The two eventually came to blows, but Wilson eventually overpowered Nettles, beating her to a pulp, sources said.
Nettles died yesterday after being taken off of life support at Harlem Hospital, cops said and Wilson has been bailed.
The Manhattan DAs office is reviewing the incident to see whether Wilson’s original assault charge will be upgraded, sources said.
Christine Quinn said today, “The District Attorney, the police are investigating the specifics of this crime and are investigating this as a potential hate crime. Now, they’re going to continue to do that investigation but we have another situation that there is a very real possibility that someone’s life is over, over because people didn’t like who they were.
“Taking away somebody’s life that you don’t like for who they are, feeling so affirmed in your hatred that you get to act it out so violently, that’s not what New York is about…Enough has to be enough.”