A man was charged with arson and murder in connection with the death of a transgender woman who died after she was stabbed and the home she was inside was set on fire in Pico-Union, authorities said Tuesday. Kevin Ramirez, 29, is accused of killing Victoria Ramos Gutierrez during an attempted first-degree robbery, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He admitted to stabbing her and then intentionally setting the home on fire, officials said.
Ramirez had met Gutierrez online, officials said in a news release.
One law enforcement official said Gutierrez was “well-loved” in the local LGBTQ community during the news conference Tuesday, which was attended by the Transgender Advisory Council in the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office and the Los Angeles LGBTQ Center.