CHARLOTTE — A man accused of murdering two transgender women was denied a plea deal offer given to him in court on Thursday.
Joel Brewer was accused of shooting and killing Jaida Peterson on Easter Sunday in 2021. Peterson was a trans woman.
A few days later, police believe Brewer also helped kill another trans woman named Remy Fennell at a hotel in University City.
Both victims were sex workers, according to police.
Sarah Mikhail told Channel 9 they remembered the week both trans women were killed.
Mikhail leads Time Out Youth, an LGBTQ community center that offers a safe space and services for young people, including therapy and housing. They said the number one reason young people come to their organization is for safety.
“When you come in here, you can let your guard down, which tells you when you’re out there, you can’t,” said Mikhail.
Brewer was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Prosecutors offered him a deal to plead guilty to second-degree murder charges and the other lesser charges, which would lead to him spending between 25 and 31 years in prison.
However, Brewer rejected that deal, and his case will now go to trial.
This is a development that concerns Mikhail.
“What does it mean in the South right now to go to a jury when we don’t know what people think about trans women?” Mikhail said. “It makes me feel like there is an emboldenment out there that says, ‘I might be able to get away with this,’ because we don’t value trans women as women.”
Prosecutors said they will now seek the maximum punishment at trial for Brewer, which is life in prison without parole.
In 2023, the other suspect in these murders, Dontarius Long, also rejected a plea deal. So now both suspects will go to trial.
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