Norcross man convicted of 2021 murder of Brookhaven transgender woman

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DEKALB COUNTY, GA. – A DeKalb County jury on Thursday convicted Pedro Silva-Renteria, 21, in the shooting death of Sophie Vasquez, 36, a transgender woman, in her apartment.

Silva-Renteria was convicted of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony for the killing of Vasquez, whose legal name was Juan Vasquez.

According to prosecutors, Brookhaven police officers went to Vasquez’s apartment on Windmont Drive shortly after 8 a.m. on May 4, 2021, and found her lying face down near the front door. She had been shot several times in the head and face. A neighbor reported hearing gunshots around 3:45 a.m., and doorbell camera footage showed a man arriving at Vasquez’s apartment at 2:50 a.m. and leaving 30 minutes later. He returned to the apartment 55 minutes later, when the shooting occurred.

The investigation revealed that Silva-Renteria and Vasquez had communicated via social media several months before the shooting. Vasquez had stopped responding to his messages, although on the night of May 3, 2021, she sent him her address at his request. Surveillance footage and phone records placed Silva-Renteria at the scene at the time of the murder.

A search of Silva-Renteria’s parents’ home uncovered clothing matching the outfit worn by the man seen in the surveillance video, as well as the murder weapon. Silva-Renteria fled to Texas, where he was arrested on August 5, 2021.

During the trial, Silva-Renteria’s defense argued that he shot Vasquez out of fear upon learning she was a transgender woman. However, social media records showed that Vasquez revealed her transgender identity to her on several occasions and that she was proud of it.

Silva-Renteria is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. Nov. 8.