GUILTY TN - Gilbert 'Gizzy' Fowler, 24, transgender woman slain, Nashville, 12 Nov 2014

The man found shot to death Wednesday morning in a driveway on the 3900 block of Lunn Drive has been identified as Gilbert Fowler, 24, who is last known to have lived on Southside Court. Fowler's next-of-kin has been notified.

North Precinct officers responded to a burglary call at the residence at 5:27 a.m. A neighbor saw a white car in the driveway (Fowler's 2006 Buick LaCrosse) and a possible light coming from the property. The neighbor knew that was suspicious since the home was unoccupied due to the recent natural death of the owner. Officers found Fowler's body outside the passenger side of the car. The home was locked and showed no sign of forced entry. Neighbors told police that they heard what may have been a gunshot between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.

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Fowler said her nickname for Gilbert was Gizzy. Among those in Nashville's transgender community he also known to go by the same name. Fowler said she's known about his lifestyle for years.

“I didn't agree with it. But I dealt with it because that was my son. Again, if anybody had a problem with it, I would, because I'm his mama,” Fowler said.

It's still not known what lead up to Gilbert Fowler's death. Saturday night, many gathered to pray for answers and the end to street violence in Music City.

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Twenty-four-year-old Gizzy Fowler, a trans woman of color, was found dead in a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee earlier this week. This is the 10th known murder of a trans woman of color in the United States during 2014....

"There is an undeniable epidemic of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-confirming women, specifically transgender women of color in the United States -- these ten lives cut short cannot be ignored" said Osman Ahmed, The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) Research and Education Coordinator at the New York City Anti-Violence Project. "We need immediate action on a national level to address the alarming violence against transgender women in the United States."

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Metro police have identified a suspect in the murder of Gilbert Fowler in November 2014.

Police said in a news release that analysis of evidence recovered at the Lunn Drive scene have led them to name Antoine Porter, 18, of Brookway Drive, as the suspected killer...

A review of Fowler's phone records showed that he had traveled to the area to meet an individual, according to police. Forensic evidence showed it was Porter who Fowler was meeting.

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Details about the murder of a transgender woman last November were revealed during a court hearing for the suspect Tuesday morning.

Mallory Porter, 18, is charged with criminal homicide in the shooting death of Gilbert “Gizzy” Fowler...

Detectives say Porter initially lied about his involvement when he was first interviewed by police but DNA evidence confirmed he was at the scene of the shooting.

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Assistant District Attorney Nathan McGregor submitted social media postings as evidence that Porter's bond should not be reduced. He said Porter's posts showed an alarming fascination with guns. One of the images is a picture of a man holding a rifle, posted Dec. 15, with the status: "In love wit my #50ROUND!" Another, posted Jan. 26 of an unknown year, reads: "Feds tryna lock me up, but that ain't Gone solve nun. Guns solve my problems!"...


police found Porter's DNA on evidence collected from the scene, including clothing and a towel in the front seat of Fowler's Buick, which was parked in the home's driveway. She also said DNA evidence was recovered from Fowler's body during a rape-kit test performed by the medical examiner.
The relationship between Fowler and Porter before the killing was unclear, though Fowler's mother said they knew each other.

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One day in October, the couple visited Greenwood Cemetery in Nashville, where the grave of Tiffany's child Gilbert "Gizzy" Fowler is next to that of Tiffany's mother. They died within two months of each other in 2014. On the day she visited the gravesite to remember Fowler, it halted her breath. A picture of the 24-year-old in a baseball hat stares up from a headstone next to off-white silk flowers.

Fowler, a transgender woman, regularly used the first name Breana. Fowler was killed after a sexual encounter early one morning in 2014. Mallory Porter recently took a deal and was sentenced to 15 years for the crime.

Tiffany said Porter got a "timeout" while she is dealing with a life sentence. Standing beside Fowler's grave, wearing a button with Fowler's picture, she remembered her child as a hard worker and the glue of the Fowler family.

"He said, 'Mama, I want to have a house by 25,' " she remembers.

"But he didn't make it."

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Mallory Porter at the time he surrendered to police in March 2015. Porter was charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Gilbert Fowler. In September he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

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Porter and Fowler had oral sex in Fowler's car outside the house. Public records and Harcombe say the sex progressed, and Porter found out Fowler had a penis.
Harcombe said that's when Porter, who was on drugs, got scared and felt threatened because he and Fowler were of similar physical size. She said Porter was shocked Fowler was not a woman. Laura Getz, another public defender who also worked on Porter's case, said Porter brought the gun for protection because he knew the circumstances of meeting a stranger at night could be risky.

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