Hector Enrique Valencia, a Columbian student who killed a 69-year-old sex worker in her apartment in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, has been found not guilty of her murder, but guilty of manslaughter.
Warning: This report contains details of a violent crime where the victim is transgender.
The 23-year-old had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in the New South Wales Supreme Court where he was tried over the death of 69-year-old Kimberly McRae.
His guilty plea to the lesser charge of manslaughter was rejected by prosecutors at the start of the trial but after hearing all the evidence Justic Dina Yehia said she could not be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that it has been established that Valenica intended to kill McRae.
Giving evidence Valencia admitted that he had become angry after he discovered that McRae was transgender. He had gone to her apartment after hiring her for sexual services. He admitted that he had punched the woman in the stomach and in the face but claimed that McRae had grabbed a nearby lamp and tried to choke him with the cord.
Valencia said he had been “scared and in panic” and in a struggle with McRae he ended up holding the cord against her neck.
Justice Yehia said she was satisfied that McRae had died as a result of asphyxiation cause by neck compression and Valencia had held the cord across the front of her neck “whist pushing with some for force… for some seconds.”
Handing down her verdict Justice Yehiua said she was finding Valencia guilty of manslaughter, on the basis of it being an unlawful and dangerous act.
At the beginning of her judgement Justice Yehia stressed that describing the victim as transgender or a sex worker was not a judgement on her lifestyle.
“It should be clearly understood that Kimberley McRae was entitled to live her life as she wanted. It must also be remembered that she was a writer, a sister and a friend to many. That she died in January 2020 is tragic.” Justice Yehia said.
Valencia fled the country after committing the crime but was later extradited back to Australia. He remains in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
OIP Staff
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