Transgender woman murdered: Jermal Richards in connection with the November 2020 killing of Asia Foster in southwest Houston, the records say

HOUSTON, TX (KTRK) — Houston police arrested a suspect Thursday, two years after the killing of a 22-year-old transgender woman.

Jermal Richards, 32, is now accused of killing Asia Foster after he allegedly dumped her body on a side street west of the Houston Galleria in November 2020.

“I just want him to take his time,” said Bird Foster, Asia’s mother. “I want to see him wake up behind bars every day. He needs to see it every day for the rest of this life.”

On Thursday, Asia’s mother and her relatives received calls from investigators about the arrest. According to court documents, Asia Foster met with Richards at his apartment complex near the Galleria on the evening of her murder.

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A short time later she was found shot to death near Greenridge Street.

Relatives wondered if Asia would be another statistic for the alarming murders of transgender women.

“A lot of transgender women are being targeted and they’re in fear for their lives all the time,” said Cynthia G, the aunt who raised Asia. “Why why? They are just people trying to live their lives and there is hate.”

“It’s absolutely an epidemic,” Bird said, and has always accepted Asia for what it is. “Why? The hate you have for someone is someone else who lives differently. not your life They just want to live their lives somehow.”

Bird Foster says she always kept up with investigators as they worked the case, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed most of the case.

When the pandemic lifted restrictions, investigators were able to find and confirm a DNA match. They say Richards’ DNA was found on Asia’s body.

“They told me they had an absolute match as to why he’s in custody,” Bird said.

SEE ALSO: Activists Speak Out About Violence Against Houston’s Transgender Community After Woman’s Murder

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