MINNEAPOLIS -- The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office has identified a homicide victim that was discovered in an apartment this week.
The Minneapolis Fire Department responded to a medical emergency 9-1-1 call in the 1300 block of Linden Avenue just after 3 p.m. Tuesday. The building caretaker, in response to a family request, entered an apartment to check the welfare of a resident and found 45-year-old Christopher Paul Bates on the ground.
Fire officials determined that Bates was deceased and that the death warranted police investigation due to evidence at the scene. Minneapolis Police responded at approximately 3:20 p.m., and found that Bates had possible stab wounds.
On Thursday, a spokesperson with Outfront Minnesota confirmed that Bates was a transgender woman who was known by the name 'Krissy.' Anti-Violence Program Coordinator Rebecca Waggoner says the victim lived alone and was new to the city. Friends describe Krissy as a warm, caring, loving member of the community.
A vigil is being planned for Bates on January 21st from 6 to 7:30pm, at a location that is yet to be determined.
Despite the description of Bates as transgender, a spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department says there is currently nothing to suggest that the murder was a hate crime, or connected with some kind of gender bias.
Police say no one is in custody in connection with this case, and the Minneapolis Police Department Homicide Unit is asking anyone with information about the case to call the TIPS Line at (612) 692-TIPS (8477).
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