A man has been charged with allegedly murdering a transgender woman he had met on Plenty of Fish.
Charles Nelson of Springfield, Missouri, had been talking to 26-year-old Dominique Lucious on the site. They made plans to meet up at an apartment where Lucious would be staying. Another occupant of the apartment, identified as “S.D.,” says that Lucious woke him up early Thursday morning to let him know that she was preparing for her date with Nelson. S.D. told police that he went back to sleep but was awakened by the sounds of gunshots. The man says he saw Lucious lying on the couch with a man standing over before fleeing the home and entering his car. S.D. was able to take photos of the man as he drove away. A neighbor also saw the man leaving the apartment.
Nelson was arrested later that evening. Police used explicit text messages between the two and witnesses’ statements to link the 28-year-old to the murder. Authorities claim that Nelson had blood on his shoes when they caught up with him, and a gun recovered at his home matched a shell casing found at the crime scene.
Lucious’s family is stunned by the murder, saying that everyone who knew the young woman adored her.
“We grew up together,” said Ciara Williams, a cousin of Lucious. “We have lived together numerous times.” She goes on to add, “We were both homeless at a point in our lives when we were younger. She made sure I had somewhere warm to stay, even if she didn’t. She had a very good heart.”
Nelson has been charged with second-degree murder and is being held in the Greene County jail.
