A Union City man will be arraigned April 29 on charges he murdered a transgender woman last week in Milpitas. The killing of drag performer Natalia Smüt Lopez, 24, of San Jose, sent shockwaves through the South Bay's LGBTQ community.
She is the 16th victim of anti-transgender violence this year in the United States, according to the Project MORE Foundation, a nonprofit service provider to South Bay LGBTQs.
Prosecutors allege that Elijah Cruz Segura, 22, stabbed Lopez to death early April 23. The two "had been dating for several months," the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office stated in a news release.
Segura will continue to be held without bail until the arraignment takes place. It was originally scheduled for the afternoon of