The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Transgender Teen Charged With Murdering Father’s Fiancée in Alabama

Posted on | October 20, 2019 | Comments Off on Transgender Teen Charged With Murdering Father’s Fiancée in Alabama

 

Pay close attention or you could miss the transgender angle:

A Lee County Judge has ordered an Auburn teen charged with Murder be held without bond due to public safety concerns on behalf of the Lee Co. District Attorney’s Office.
16-year-old Ross McFarland is charged in Thursday’s shooting death of 66-year-old Martha White. White was the fiancé of McFarland’s father, a prominent east Alabama physician.
“I requested an extraordinary bond in this case as a result of evidence obtained during the investigation. I presented this information to the court in support of my public safety concerns and the judge ordered the defendant to be held without bond,” shared Lee Co. District Attorney Brandon Hughes.
Prosecutors declined to comment specifically on why McFarland’s release would cause them to be concerned for the safety of the public.
Ross McFarland, who is publicly known to identify as male, is being held at the Lee County Detention Facility as a female according to detention facility records.
Coroner Bill Harris says White appears to have been killed by a single gunshot based on a preliminary exam.
Auburn police arrested the 16-year-old early Friday morning on Murder charges after the Thursday night homicide along Burke Place.
“On Oct. 18, 2019, at approximately 6:30 a.m., Auburn Police along with the assistance of members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force and Tallapoosa County Drug Task Force arrested Ross Jonathan McFarland, 16, of Auburn, on a warrant for Murder,” said Auburn Police Captain Lorenzo Dorsey.
Investigators say analysis of the scene resulted in McFarland, who resides at the residence on Burke Place, being developed as a suspect in the death.
“McFarland, a truck missing from the residence and what is believed to be the weapon used in the homicide, was located in the 10,000 block of Highway 50 near Dadeville and taken into custody,” said Dorsey.
McFarland has been charged with Murder, transported to the Lee County jail and was held under a $150,000 bond until a no bond was issued in a Friday afternoon hearing. This means McFarland will be held until a possible trial unless a new bond is set in the case.

My brother Kirby called my attention to this case, but when I did a Google search, none of the other news stories I found made any mention of “Ross” being, in fact, a girl who “identifies” as a boy. This account from WRBL-TV turns out to be the only article that mentions it. My guess is that “Ross” has undergone a legal name change and had been on testosterone prior to the murder. But unless journalists start asking questions — and reporting the answers — we’re not going to know all the facts. Also, if a transgender teenager had been the victim of homicide, you’d see it all over the national media, but because this case involves a suspected transgender perpetrator, it’s just “local news.”

UPDATE: OK, it appears the case may be opposite of what I’d presumed. Ross McFarland may actually be a male who “identifies” as female. Ross’s father is Dr. John H. McFarland, age 68. Ross’s mother, Donna, who was the doctor’s second wife, died last year at age 45. The couple married in 1996 and Ross was the youngest of their three children. Dr. McFarland apparently had two children by his previous marriage. So the question is why Ross is identified as female on jail records. We must wait for further reporting to clarify this issue.


 

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