Vigils held for slain transgender woman, ‘no evidence of hate crime,’ WPD says

WILMINGTON — Two separate groups gathered Friday evening to remember a friend, loved one and member of the LGBTQ+ community.

KC Lee Johnson — a transgender woman, whose friends say she preferred the spelling “Casey” — went missing Friday, Jan. 13. Five days later, the Wilmington Police Department announced she had been a victim of foul play. 

READ MORE: Missing person case ends in murder charge

They determined Johnson was killed on King Street in the Love Grove community after having met up with someone on a dating app.

“I don’t know if it’s a hate crime,” Bulla Brodzinski, Johnson’s partner, told Port City Daily. “If anyone knows it’s probably the police. But it’s a possibility.”

WPD Lt. Leslie Irving said the investigation is ongoing and more charges have yet to be filed.  

“There is no evidence at this time of a hate crime,” she wrote. 

The police department has an arrest warrant out for William Haven Hicks for first-degree murder, robbery with a dangerous weapon and kidnapping in connection to Johnson. It has not been revealed how Johnson died or the motive behind it.

As of Wednesday, WPD was coordinating with Chatham County in Georgia after discovering remains located near a sugar refinery. They washed up on a rocky edge of the Savannah River; police are awaiting autopsy results to determine if the remains are Johnson’s.

Even if Hicks were to be charged with a hate crime, North Carolina general statutes don’t mention gender or sexuality explicitly. NCGS 14-3 (c), NCGS 14-12.12 and NCGS 14-401.14 only address a victim’s race, color, religion, nationality, or country of origin.

Still, Sean Spiering, an attorney for the county’s district attorney’s office, said there are “non-statutory aggravating factors” that could be considered during a sentencing, regardless of whether one is charged with a hate crime.

To be clear, Spiering was not speaking to Johnson’s case but only to the nuance of the statute itself. He declined to comment on the Wilmington crime, as evidence and fact-gathering continues.

“But suffice it to say there are measures in place for sentencing that’s appropriate for these kinds of things,” he said. “There’s equal protection of laws for everybody, including those of gender, different sexuality, as there is people different race and religion.”

This is the second murder of a transgender woman reported in the last six days in the United States. 

An LGBTQ advocacy group, the Human Rights Campaign, released a report in November stating at least 32 transgender and gender-nonconforming people were killed in the states in 2022. It has been tracking the number since 2013, noting transgender women are disproportionately killed,  representing 81% of the recorded deaths.

“Anti trans violence is a huge issue in America and in our community — and the LGBTQ Center takes that very seriously,” Caroline Morin said. She’s the executive director for the LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast.

“There is a clear and well-documented history of people claiming surprise, or what have you, when they meet a trans person, and then use that as a defense for harm,” she added.

Morin said when incidents like Johnson’s death occur, it creates fear in the LGBTQ community and the only way to combat it is love. 

“When news of this tragedy was released, we reached out to Casey’s partner, Bulla, and offered support,” Morin said. “One of the things that came out of that was a desire and the need for the community to have some visibility and not hide in fear.”

A little less than 100 people from the LGBTQ community — including allies from UNCW, the city and county, as well representatives from the district attorney’s office, and former Senate candidate Marcia Morgan — gathered on the front steps of City Hall Friday evening. Flowers, pride flags and tea lights were passed around. 

“So many of you are chosen family that saw Casey for everything that she was,” pastor Kelly Finch of Mosaic UMC said to the group. “And we’re all grateful that you gave her the opportunity to be who she was. She did not deserve this. This was hate coming in a vicious form. She deserved so much more.”

The pastor led the audience in prayer: “Please give us the strength to walk in a world that isn’t always kind and please give those around us the strength to fight for us.”

A handful of people spoke of Johnson, many of whom touted her courage to live authentically. 

“As you continue to honor Casey, I would just ask: Please make sure that you use proper pronouns, as well as with any transgender person that you’ve come in contact with,” TR Nunley said. 

Nunley runs a local support service group for transgender adults and teens. 

“Every trans person is trans enough — once they tell you that they’re trans, that means they’re trans,” he said. “My condolences go out to all of Casey’s family as well.”

Veronica Walters, from a transgender support group in Myrtle Beach, drove an hour east to partake in the memorial. She met Johnson a handful of times, she said.

“It’s shocking when you realize that you know somebody who has been murdered,” Walters said. “But we are not alone — we have friends and allies, not just in this state but all over the world.”

It was Johnson’s kind spirit that was most attractive, welcoming and warming, according to Brodzinski, who said she helped her “during dark times.”

“She was the love of my life — I would do anything for her,” Brodzinski told Port City Daily.

The two started dating in August and lived together. 

Just last week, on a brisk Friday the 13th, Brodzinski detailed how Johnson was headed to a doctor’s appointment after a friend dropped her off in the 1300 block of Tradd Court, located in the medical park area off 17th Street.

Later that evening, around 6 p.m., Johnson stopped back at the home they shared to grab her phone before going to meet a friend.

“She gave me a hug and a kiss, went out the door and said she’d be back in an hour,” Brodzinski told Port City Daily. “It was the last I ever saw her.”

A missing person’s report was released by WPD the next day.

Johnson’s mother, Dawn Buchanan, revealed on social media three days later, on Jan. 17, “the last GPS location was in The Love Grove community near downtown Wilmington around 7:19pm we are sooooo worried this is not like KC at all!”

By that time, Myrtle Beach police already had a fugitive arrest warrant for Hicks. The 26-year-old’s South Carolina criminal record is lengthy, with offenses dating back to 2018. Hicks was charged with multiple felony and misdemeanor counts, including torturing animals, assault and battery, and burglary.

He was detained in the City of Myrtle Beach jail. After waiving his right for extradition in a Thursday hearing, Hicks was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Conway without bond. WPD is pursuing his extradition within the next 20 days and then a bond hearing will be set.

READ MORE: Man charged in local murder to be extradited from SC within 20 days

“We’re the conscience for our community,” DA Ben David told the media at the City Hall vigil, “and it’s a time-honored principle that there’s equal protection under the law for everyone. And that means just as no one’s above the law, no one’s beneath the law’s protection.”

An hour and a half later, 11 blocks north, Johnson’s family and friends — along with a few members from the LGBTQ community and Spieling from the DA’s office — walked, with candles in hand from Archie Blue Park in the Love Grove community, to King Street where Johnson was suspected to be killed.  Police escorts were nearby as the procession moved across two or three blocks.

Buchanan declined to speak to Port City Daily on the record ahead of the vigil.

“I’m focused on trying to find out what happened to KC,” she wrote in response to an interview request. “But everyone is welcome tonight.”

They placed flowers, a tie-dyed hoodie, candles, balloons and signed posters in expressions of love. 

Johnson’s father, Steve, wrote: “Dad loves you just the way U R.”

“Y’all have no idea what this means to us,” Buchanan said to the crowd.

Between tears and laughter, and after an opening prayer, they exchanged stories that painted a picture of someone who was loyal, funny and “owned every room” she walked into. During youth, they described how Johnson loved the Green Bay Packers, comic books, Rick and Morty and SpongeBob.

Stories were shared about Johnson’s boisterous laughter as a baby, her helpful demeanor, a love for telling “Dad jokes,” and penchant for impressions.

“He did the best Kermit the Frog,” Buchanan said, while comforting her daughter. “I’m going to get a Kermit tattoo in his honor.”

The family started a GoFundMe to help with Johnson’s funeral expenses. No formal plans were announced by press.

“He’s in a better place — somewhere where Casey can be Casey,” Buchanan said to the crowd. “He was my buddy for 26 years. He just decided to transition and we supported it. It’s just, the pronoun change has been hard, when you’ve known someone one way for so long. But no matter what, he is my baby — a beautiful person, no matter what clothes he wore.”

Anyone seeking support services from the LGBTQ community can reach out to the LGBTQ Center of the Cape Fear Coast and Wilmington Trans Community.

Have comments or tips? Email [email protected].

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