A Philadelphia man was found guilty of first-degree murder in the mutilation and death of a 27-year-old transgender woman.
According to a statement from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, a jury convicted Akhenaton Jones, 41, of the brutal murder of Dominique Rem’mie Fells in June 2020.
“I applaud Assistant District Attorney Ashley Toczylowski for her skillful prosecution of this difficult and horrifying case,” Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner stated.
“I also want to thank our victim support staff for standing with the victim’s family for five long years, and to the jury for delivering justice for Rem’mie, who was by all accounts a remarkable and creative woman loved by her family, friends and community,” Krasner told reporters.
Fells’ body was discovered floating in the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia on June 8, 2020, according to prosecutors. Authorities first discovered her torso, which had over 40 stab wounds. Three days later, her legs were discovered in a trash bag on the riverbanks.
According to the prosecutor’s office, two witnesses reported Fells spending time with Jones at his Philadelphia home. The witnesses left the house that night, but when they returned, they discovered Fells dead in a pool of her own blood that filled the entire room.
According to prosecutors, investigators obtained a search warrant for Jones’ home. When investigators arrived, they discovered blood spattered everywhere, including a knife, an electric saw, and a white hazmat suit.
Surveillance video showed Jones exiting his home with a trash can and trash bag containing Fells’ remains and entering a white van. According to the prosecutor’s office, surveillance video captured Jones driving the van to the Schuylkill River.
Jones fled to California before his arrest warrant was issued later that month, according to prosecutors. He was arrested in Los Angeles on November 9, 2020, and extradited to Philadelphia.
Once Jones was apprehended, authorities compared his DNA to DNA recovered at the scene from the knife, saw, and hazmat suit.
The Human Rights Campaign reported at least 372 cases of fatal violence against transgender and gender nonconforming people in the United States since 2014.
According to a report from 2024, Black transgender women accounted for nearly half of these deaths.
“This, and countless other painful losses — especially within our transgender communities — remind us that there is much more work to be done before we achieve full equality, respect, and support for all,” the Philadelphia Office of LGBT Affairs said in a statement. “The murder of transgender people, especially those of color, is truly an epidemic, and a crisis that we cannot afford to allow to persist any further.”
The prosecutor’s office stated that Jones is scheduled to be sentenced on September 26.
“The verdict last Monday brought justice for our daughter, but it does not take away the pain of losing her,” Fells’ mother, Terri Fells-Edmonds, said in a statement.
“Dominique’s life was important, and we will continue to honor her every day.” To me, she was Rem’mie; to our family, she was a daughter, granddaughter, niece, and friend.”
