Suspect in murder of Brookhaven trans woman arrested in Texas
BROOKHAVEN, Ga. - Police have arrested a man in Texas who was wanted in connection to the murder of a transgender woman outside of her Brookhaven apartment last month.
Pedro Silva-Renteria,18, of Norcross, was taken into custody on Thursday near Grand Prairie, Texas by the US Marshals Service with the help of state and local police, the Brookhaven Police Department said.
Detectives took arrest warrants charging the teen with the murder of Sophie Arrieta Vasquez. Police said they found her in the doorway of her apartment at 100 Windmont Drive the morning of May 4. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators believe Vasquez was killed hours before her body was discovered - possibly around 2 a.m. - outside her apartment building.
Silva-Renteria was being held in Texas as of Thursday night, awaiting the extradition process to return him to Georgia. He will be booked into the DeKalb County jail.
Arrietta Vasquez's death is at least the 23rd violent death of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in 2021, according to the LGBTQ advocate organization Human Rights Campaign.
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