SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - Friends are remembering a Sioux Falls transgender woman, whose death police are calling an apparent homicide, for her energy and compassion.
The body of Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, 28, of Sioux Falls, was discovered Friday night when police responded to a call for a welfare check. A neighbor had called to report a strong odor coming from the apartment.
Police said Sunday a 25-year-old Sioux Falls man was taken into custody in connection with the death and was being held on narcotics and parole-related charges. Additional charges are pending, police said.
Friends say Wounded Arrow, a native of Pine Ridge, identified as a transgender woman, the Argus Leader (https://argusne.ws/2i68KBD ) reported.
At a vigil outside her apartment Saturday evening, friends asked anyone with information about her death to come forward.
“We need justice and we will get it,” said Franklin Whiting, Jr., a friend and neighbor of Wounded Arrow.
While Wounded Arrow had struggles in her life, friends said people were drawn to her.
“She is the type of person that when she talks people stop to listen,” said Reina Parker, youth outreach director for the Center of Equality, a Sioux Falls-based nonprofit that advocates for LGBT rights. “The impact she leaves on people after meeting her once is something nobody forgets.”
Whiting described Wounded Arrow as an honest person who showed compassion for others.
“I’m still in shock,” Whiting said. “I keep thinking she’s going to text me or come up here.”
Wounded Arrow grew up and graduated on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and moved to Sioux Falls about a year ago, friends said.
The Center of Equality issued a statement condemning violence against transgender people.
Police have not said how Wounded Arrow was killed or how the person taken into custody was located.
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Information from: Argus Leader, https://www.argusleader.com
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