Overview
- Deandre Bell, 24, is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a stolen motor vehicle and is being held pending trial after Judge James Murphy III granted the state’s request.
- Prosecutors say Bell admitted striking Davonta Curtis, 31, in the head with a hammer until she stopped moving, then taking her keys, phone, and money.
- Surveillance video cited in court shows Bell leaving Curtis’ apartment building alone at about 1 a.m. after the attack, according to prosecutors.
- Police later found Bell driving Curtis’ Hyundai and recovered a backpack that investigators say held a tool belt with a hammer showing suspect blood, along with other items bearing suspect blood.
- A phone search detailed by prosecutors found queries like “how to kill someone with a hammer,” while an autopsy found Curtis died from multiple blunt force injuries; no motive has been offered, and her killing has intensified concern about violence against Black transgender women.