Man found guilty of murdering transgender woman inside Brookhaven apartment

BROOKHAVEN, Ga. — A 21-year-old man was convicted of killing a transgender woman inside her DeKalb County apartment.

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On Thursday, DeKalb County jurors found Pedro Silva-Renteria, 21, guilty on charges of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.

Those charges stem from the shooting death of Sophie Vasquez (legal name Juan Vasquez), 36.

On May 4, 2021, just after 8 a.m., Brookhaven police were called to a person shot at an apartment on Windmont Drive.

Police found Vasquez lying facing down on the floor near the front door of her apartment. She was shot multiple times in the head and face.

Police interviewed a neighbor who reported hearing several gunshots around 3:45 a.m. Another neighbor shared doorbell camera footage that showed a man arriving at Vasquez’s apartment around 2:50 a.m. and then leaving around 3:20 a.m. Officials said the man appeared to leave the complex but returned after a few minutes and walked around the parking lot before video showed him return to Vasquez’s apartment at about 3:45 a.m.

Officers checked Vasquez’s cellphone, which showed she and then-18 Silva-Renteria had started communicating through social media several months prior.

The victim stopped replying to Silva-Renteria, but he continued to message her periodically in the early months of 2021. The DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office said the night of May 3, 2021, Vasquez responded to Silva-Renteria’s and sent him her address at his request.

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The next day, Silva-Renteria sent Vasquez a message to tell her that he had arrived at her apartment, at the same time as the man captured on surveillance video at the complex.

Investigators conducted a search warrant at Silva-Renteria’s parents’ home and found clothing matching the outfit worn by the man on the surveillance in his room, as well as the gun and ammunition.

Silva-Renteria went to Texas, where he was arrested on August 5, 2021. During the trial, Silva-Renteria’s defense team tried to argue that he shot Vasquez out of fear once he learned she was a transgender woman.

The DA’s office said social media messages showed Vasquez was proud of her identity and she had told Silva-Renteria several times that she was a trans woman.

Silva-Renteria will be sentenced on Nov. 8.

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