Transgender killer smirks at relative of Portland cab driver she stabbed in unprovoked attack, after progressive DA gave her plea deal – then declares she WON’T apologize because her gender identity makes her ‘vulnerable’
A transgender killer sneered at her victim’s relatives and refused to apologize because her gender identity made her ‘vulnerable’ as she was sentenced to 22 years behind bars.
Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, brutally stabbed taxi driver Reese McDowell Lawhon to death in his car with bladed brass knuckles in April 2023 after suffering a mental illness during a night out partying in Portland.
Lawhon picked her up after a 911 operator suggested she call a cab home. Lopez stabbed him senselessly in the chest, without provocation.
At her sentencing Wednesday, Lopez brutally justified the killing by blaming a lack of mental health care and a system that failed her.
“I refuse to apologize for the lack of help I so desperately needed and requested from emergency services,” Lopez said. The Oregonian.
She also complained that her gender identity meant she felt “targeted” and vulnerable to attack, the newspaper said.
Transgender killer Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, refused to apologize for stabbing a taxi driver in the neck with brass knuckles as she was sentenced to 22 years in prison on Wednesday
Reese McDowell Lawhon (center) picked Lopez up in his cab in April 2023, and the two had an almost completely silent ride until she stabbed him in the neck “out of nowhere”
Police pronounced Lawhon dead at the scene after his taxi was found in traffic in an unprovoked attack around 7 p.m. on April 9, 2023
Lopez was initially charged with Lawhon’s murder, but later accepted a plea deal that would see her serve only 22 years in prison for manslaughter.
Her victim’s family reacted with outrage to the lesser charge, telling Lopez at her sentencing that she “will always be a monster.”
That was the comment that made her sneer at the killer, with a spokesperson for Lawhon’s former employer Radio Cabs calling her behavior “disgraceful” in court.
On the night of Lawhon’s murder, Lopez was partying in downtown Portland but suffered a mental breakdown and called 911 for a ride home.
The 911 operator instead suggested she call a cab and pay for the ride home.
After calling Radio Cab, static on the taxi driver’s line led to them entering the wrong address.
“I ended up in a really scary part of town where I was really scared,” Lopez said at her sentencing, claiming her gender identity often makes her feel targeted.
Surveillance footage from inside the taxi showed the journey was almost completely silent until Lawhon realized the mistake and tried to turn around under a highway overpass.
That’s when Lopez lunged forward and stabbed Lawhon in the neck “completely out of nowhere,” detectives said.
Police were called to the scene shortly before 7pm after motorists reported the taxi stopped in the middle of traffic and officers found the driver sitting over his steering wheel.
He was stabbed in the neck and pronounced dead at the scene.
Lopez was quickly apprehended by officers in the nearby area, and paramedics said they exited the taxi covered in blood and dropped a pair of brass knuckles with an attached knife to the ground.
After her arrest, Lopez said she was in a mental health crisis and that was what prompted her to call 911 for help — a narrative she stuck to at her sentencing when she refused to apologize.
However, those who knew Lawhon said he was a “kind soul” and would certainly have helped her if she had told him she was going through a hard time.
Lawhon’s loved ones said he would certainly have helped Lopez if she had told him she was going through a hard time, as he was described as “an exceptional person with time for everyone.”
Lopez sparked outrage over her conviction when she grinned at her victim’s relatives as they labeled her a “monster.”
His former colleague Darin Campbell told it KPTV: ‘She didn’t say a single word during that taxi ride. If she had told Reese, “I need help,” he would have helped her.
“Her backup would have been right there in the front seat of that car. It could have been very different.’
“The apology made in court today for (Lopez’s) actions is disgraceful,” Campbell added.
“Our opinion is that she is a homicidal mentally ill individual who should never be released. The Radio Cab management team who unfortunately had to see the video of Reese Lawhon’s murder are traumatized, and I am one of them.”
Just days before the murder, Lopez had been arrested for threatening two employees at a convenience store and charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing and weapons charges.
She failed to appear in court on these charges, but the case was dismissed as part of a plea deal on Lawhon’s murder, reducing her murder charge to manslaughter.
The plea deal was accepted by Lawhon’s sisters because they said they did not want to cause their parents more grief, but they argued that the deal was even proposed and felt that justice had not been done.
“When Moses is released in 20 years – assuming she’s still alive, which I hope she isn’t – I look forward to testifying against her for whatever senseless crime she commits, because she will,” he said. sister Claire Pearce. KATU.
His older sister, Natalie Boenker, added, “I am haunted every day by what Reese must have felt in those last 45 seconds. I wonder: was he afraid? Did he think about us? Was he in pure shock? And was he in pain?’
Campbell also condemned the plea deal, saying he believed “the defense team took advantage of the fact that Reese’s family was elderly and had to travel a long distance so they could get this plea deal.”
Lawhon was known as a talented musician and recording artist, having previously toured with the Smashing Pumpkins during his music career with band Aan
Tributes poured in for Lawhon following his untimely death, with a close friend saying that if you knew him ‘you loved him’ and he had ‘no enemy anywhere in the world’.
At Lopez’s sentencing, his sister Claire said she had to explain to Lawhon’s nieces and nephews what happened, saying, “We so often tell our children that monsters aren’t under the bed or in the closet, but it’s all a lie. .. Moses Lopez is a monster and always will be one.”
The comment prompted Lopez to grin at the relative, prompting one of her own attorneys to frown and shake her head, reports Oregon Live.
Tributes have been paid to Lawhon after his death, with those who knew him describing him as a kind-hearted and friendly person.
He was adopted and had reportedly just found his birth parents and planned to meet them before he was killed.
Lawhon was known to love art and music his obituary states that during his school years he was described by his art teacher as a ‘Mozart in the visual arts’.
“He was a gifted musician and played guitar and a set of homemade drums while in high school,” the obituary continued, as he joined the indie rock band Aan as bassist and singer.
His music career also included touring with the Smashing Pumpkins, the obituary said.
Lawhon was adopted and had reportedly just found his birth parents and planned to meet them before he was killed
“Reese was an exceptional person with time for everyone,” the obituary concluded.
‘He exuded a calm confidence and often provided his friends with timely and comical jokes. He was a keen observer of humanity and a welcome presence in any group. He was a great cuddler. He respected people from all walks of life.
“Reese never lost a friend; he kept adding them and they never went away.”
After his death, the Gladney Center for Adoption established the Reese McDowell Lawhon Scholarship Fund in his name to help adoptive families.
His band paid a moving tribute on Facebook, saying that if you knew Lawhon, “you loved him.”
“I don’t think he had an enemy anywhere in the world… The emptiness of losing him will last all my life. Best man at my wedding. The first person I called when my father passed away. Always available, reassuring and rational. It’s just too much and not real yet. Infinite love for this beautiful soul.’