Bella Evangelista

Bella Evangelista (1978 - August 16, 2003) was a transgender Latina who lived in Washington, D.C.
She was shot to death on August 16, 2003, by Antione Jacobs, who felt deceived upon learning
Evangelista was transgender after paying her for a sex act.
At about 4:30 a.m., on August 16, 2003, Evangelista was shot to death at the corner of Arkansas
Avenue and Allison Street NW, by Antione D. Jacobs, 22.Jacobs later told investigators that he paid
Evangelista for oral sex. After learning from someone else that Evangelista was transgender, he
became enraged and returned to the scene and shot her.
On August 19, 2003, 75 to 100 people attended a vigil in honor of Evangelista, at the site of her
murder. Attendees created a memorial to Evangelista, covering a sign post with her pictures and
leaving stuff animals, candles, and signs calling for an end to violence.
Attendees reported being verbally harassed by neighborhood residents as they walked to the vigil.
Two nights later, on August 21, friends of Evangelista discovered that the memorial had been
destroyed. Photos of Evangelista had been torn down and ripped to pieces. Flowers candles that had
been placed on the sidewalk were smashed.
On December 16, Jacobs was sentence to 16 years in prison and eight months for Evangelista's murder,
followed by five years of supervised probation.