SC man sentenced to life in prison after conviction in Allendale Black transgender woman murder

SOUTH CAROLINA (WJBF) – The South Carolina man who was convicted after the December 2019 murder of a Black transgender woman from Allendale has been sentenced to life in prison.

Daqua Lameek Ritter was convicted on February 24th by a jury of all charges in the indictment which included one hate crime count, one federal firearms count, and one obstruction count.

According to the evidence that was presented in the trial, Ritter was upset that rumors about his sexual relationship with Dime Doe were community, and on August 4th, 2019, Ritter lured Doe to a remote area in Allendale and hot her three times in the head.

According to the evidence that was presented, the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Ritter murdered Doe because of her gender identity, and Ritter burned the clothes he was wearing during the crime, disposed of the murder weapon, and repeatedly lied to law enforcement.

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According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Xavier Pinckney, 24, was sentenced to 45 months in prison in May 2024 for providing false and misleading information to state authorities investigating the murder of Dime Doe.

The FBI Columbia Field Office investigated the case, with the assistance of the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, Allendale County Sheriff's Office, and Allendale Police Department.

According to The United States Department of Justice, this is the first guilty verdict in trial under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Shepard-Byrd Act) for violence against a transgender person.

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