Update: A suspect in jail on an unrelated charge is accused of fatally shooting transgender hairstylist Ashley Burton.
Burton, 37, was found deceased in a breezeway at City Park Apartments on Fairburn Road on April 11.
Darius Mills, 31, was already in custody at the Fulton County Jail on an unrelated charge.
According to arrest warrants, obtained by Fox 5 News, Mills faces charges of murder, armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Police say Burton and Mills knew each other. An argument ensued outside Burton’s apartment where Mills tried to snatch Burton’s cellphone.
Mills shot Burton in the face and stole the cellphone before breaking into Burton’s apartment to steal a second cellphone.
Police believe Mills stole the phones because they contained information that could identify him.
Police are trying to determine if Burton’s murder qualifies as a hate crime.
Burton grew up in South Carolina and relocated to Atlanta for a chance at a better life.
Burton’s cousin, Ivory Carter, who is also an MTF trans, described the hairstylist and makeup artist as “a sweetheart.”
“She was a very sweet young lady,” Carter told Fox 5 Atlanta. “She was very full of life really. It was always smiles and laughs with us whenever we work together.”
“She wasn’t nasty. She wasn’t disrespectful. She just wanted to live her life,” Carter added.
Carter said Burton and the killer knew each other and that Burton fought for dear life.
“She ran out of the house, hollering and screaming, beating on doors,” Carter told 11 Alive. “This got to be personal. You shot her in her house, then you followed her outside and shot her.”
Police believe the murder was a domestic violence incident.
Carter agreed, saying that Burton wouldn’t let just anyone inside the apartment, especially at that time of night.
“She don’t put herself in them type of environments,” Carter explained.
“I’m tired of all these incidents with transgender women just being pushed up under the rug,” Carter told Fox 5. “We are human beings.”
