MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man will serve more than 30 years in prison after being convicted of second-degree intentional murder in the death of a transgender woman in November of 2023.
A Hennepin County district judge sentenced Damarean Kaylon Bible to 367 months - or 30 and 1/2 years - for fatally shooting Savannah Ryan Williams, a woman who was well-known in the Twin Cities trans community. Bible will serve two-thirds of that sentence behind bars.
“This senseless act of violence against a Native and Cuban transgender woman has left a family without a daughter, a partner without their person, and a community without the vibrant light that Savannah uniquely brought to every room she was in," said Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in a press conference following the sentencing. "Savannah deserved safety.”
Moriarty said investigators in her office conducted a thorough review to determine whether the killing was motivated by bias, but concluded they could not prove bias beyond a reasonable doubt. The county attorney did say Williams' murder is part of a pattern of escalating attacks against trans women, particularly those who are of color. She said since 2013, 286 trans women have been killed, with 85% of those victims being BIPOC women.
"The fact that we could not charge this as a bias crime does not change the impact that this crime has had on making our trans community feel less safe," Moriarty said. "Across the country and in our community, hateful acts of violence against transgender people are on the rise. Every time a trans person is attacked, the entire community feels less safe."
Williams' younger sisters spoke on behalf of their family.
"I never got to say goodbye to my big sister, but something I'll always remember she told me was to never say goodbye, [but] to say 'See you later," said Gabrielle Stillday, Williams' youngest sister.
She went on to say "There is no good that comes from homicide." Kelly Stillday spoke next, describing Savannah as a beautiful soul who was kind and loving.
"His actions have forever stained our lives with grief," she said of Bible. "It shows you, Savannah was a magnet. She pulled everyone towards her including the defendant."
After the press conference, the sisters told KARE 11 that their family can begin to have some peace and closure now that Bible is sentenced. They said they believe justice was served, something many families don't get.
Two state legislators who are members of the Queer Caucus vowed to continue work at the State Capitol to protect Minnesota's transgender community and increase penalties against those who harm them.
“Savannah Ryan Williams was a beloved member of the trans and Two Spirit community, and she should be alive today,” said Minnesota Rep. Leigh Finke (DFL-66A). “The data is clear that trans people, especially trans people of color, suffer violence at rates far greater than our cisgender neighbors. The Queer Caucus will continue do everything in our power at the Capitol to solve this crisis, and I thank the County Attorney's Office for sharing this commitment."
Minneapolis police were dispatched to the 3000 block of 4th Ave. S. around 9 a.m. Nov. 29, 2023 on reports of someone not breathing. Witnesses told officers they heard a gunshot just before 6 a.m.
Investigators used surveillance video to track the shooting suspect to an apartment building where they arrested Bible.
A criminal complaint says Bible admitted to shooting Williams in the head. He told police she approached him for a sexual encounter but he began to feel "suspicious." After the act, he shot and killed her, according to court documents. Bible reportedly confessed after police found surveillance video of him at the scene near the Lake Street light rail station.
The complaint said while in jail, Bible told his dad he “just murdered someone.” It reads that he felt sorry for killing the victim and knew he wasn’t God, but he “had to do it.”
He was convicted of second-degree intentional murder on Aug. 27, 2024 - a jury verdict.
Following her death, friends remembered Williams as a big personality who was "full of life."