Sumter County is in south Georgia, north of Albany and west of Cordele. The county seat is Americus, but arguably the most famous town in Sumter County is Plains, from which hometown a certain peanut farmer grew up to be President of the United States. The county is largely rural, with a population of less than 30,000, more than half of whom live in Americus. About five miles southeast of downtown Americus, Lamar Road runs from District Line Road down toward Lake Blackshear, a distance of about 14 miles. It was past 9 o’clock on the night of October 28, 2011, when a motorist driving along Lamar Road saw something that he first believed to be a dead deer in the road, but which turned out to be a naked human body. A 911 call brought sheriff’s deputies and other authorities to the scene, where it was discovered that the deceased “John Doe” was a Hispanic male, who had been shot to death. Soon, authorities were able to identify the vehicle that dumped the body there:
“We had several eyewitnesses who were able to give us a description of the vehicle,” [Georgia Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Trebor] Randle said.
“The person or persons who were responsible for this were supposed to be in an older model Grand Marquis,” said [Sumter County Sheriff Pete] Smith.
Just a few miles away from the crime scene a tan, 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis proved valuable in the case. Spotted in the Lexington Circle Mobile Home Park, evidence like a bloody blanket in which the body was apparently wrapped was discovered inside. . . .
Investigators served a warrant on a Lexington mobile home. It was here where agents say the John Doe victim was shot in the torso. His suspected killers — young siblings.
Kenyota Maria Peterson, 20, was charged with murder, as were her two younger brothers, Adam Peterson, 14, and Clarence Coleman, 16 — both juveniles charged as adults. The victim was identified as Samuel Chavez, 29, a native of Honduras whose immigration status was unclear. Eventually, Kenyota Peterson accepted a plea bargain and was sentenced to prison on a manslaughter charge, but I never would have heard of this case had it not been for Chaya Raichik’s LibsOfTikTok account posting those photos reportedly taken inside a school in Madison, Wisconsin. That weird jargon about “heteronormative thinking” and a “queer affirming network” led me to click on the picture and zoom in.
Who is Ky Peterson? Seeing this name, my first thought was that Ky Peterson might be an academic, a college professor of Gender Studies perhaps, who had furnished this quote about “heteronomative thinking.” But then I started Googling and discovered that Ky Peterson was, for a few years, a cause célèbre in the LGBTQ+ rights movement. Kenyota Peterson, the woman convicted of killing Samuel Chavez, now identified as a man and was, according to activists, a victim of injustice, who had wrongly been sent to prison for shooting her (or “his”) rapist.
Peterson was released from custody in 2020, and has since disappeared from the headlines, but it took a good bit of research on my part to uncover the truth about this case, because most of what turns up in a Google search for “Ky Peterson” is just a rather deceptive boilerplate summary of claims by activists:
We demand justice for Ky Peterson, a Black transgender man incarcerated in Georgia for defending himself against transphobic sexual violence. We call upon Governor Nathan Deal and the State Board of Pardons & Paroles to pardon and release Ky Peterson now!
Ky Peterson grew up in a small South Georgia farming town. Though Ky struggled for acceptance as a transgender man, he had the love of his family. Ky worked hard to support his mom and three younger siblings and volunteered at an assisted living home and the American Red Cross in his free time.
On October 28, 2011, the life that Ky Peterson knew came to an end. Ky and his younger brothers walked to a neighborhood convenience store. After making his purchase, he waited outside for them. Ky was approached by a man who made sexual advances toward him. When Ky asked the man to leave him alone, the man uttered derogatory insults as he drove away. Ky told his brothers that he was walking home first, leaving them to follow. As he passed an abandoned trailer, the same man who had approached Ky earlier attacked him from behind. He dragged Ky into the abandoned trailer and sexually assaulted him. Ky fought back in self-defense, which ultimately led to his attacker’s death.
Oh, really? That 2018 petition repeats a version of events told by the accused murderer, and the claim that Peterson was “forced” to accept a plea bargain is self-evidently false. Peterson was free to take her (or “his”) chances with a jury trial, but in view of the possibility of life in prison if convicted, made what seemed to her (or “him”) the smart move. And while many “activist” types might second-guess that choice, I fail to see how it constitutes an “injustice.” Also, notice the assertion that Peterson was the victim of “transphobic sexual violence” despite the absence of any evidence that Samuel Chavez knew anything about Peterson being transgender. And guess what? Basically every convicted murderer in prison claims to be innocent, so this tale told by Ky Peterson ought to be considered skeptically. Beyond that, however, can somebody please explain to me why Ky Peterson is featured on this poster displayed in a Wisconsin public school? It makes no sense at all.
How did this convicted killer gain heroic status? It can be traced to a 2015 article in The Advocate with the headline, “This Black Trans Man Is in Prison for Killing His Rapist,” which assumes as its core truth a controversial claim about a man who, of course, is not able to tell his side of the story — because Ky Peterson killed him. The article dramatizes Peterson’s version of what happened, even while it discloses (way down in the story, if you read carefully) some inconvenient facts about the case.
First, neither Peterson nor her juvenile brothers were strangers to the criminal justice system. The 14-year-old “was already well-known by local law enforcement after numerous violent outbursts at school landed him in juvenile detention, where he allegedly assaulted a correctional officer,” while the 16-year-old was, at the time of Samuel Chavez’s death, wearing an ankle monitor while on home detention because of a prior burglary conviction. Ky Peterson herself had a prior criminal history dating back to her own juvenile years, and as an adult had faced charges of probation violation in 2008, disorderly conduct in 2008 and 2010, and civil contempt in August 2011. This is the person we’re told volunteered with the Red Cross and an assisted living home, OK?
Second, while the article repeats Peterson’s claim of being the victim of a surprise attack by Chavez — she was walking home through the trailer park, she says, when she was knocked unconscious — her own brothers told quite a different story: “Peterson’s brothers told investigators that the entire incident was a scheme of Peterson’s design; that Peterson asked them to help [her] rob the stranger after Peterson lured him in with a promise of sex.” As Lt. Joe Kenda might say, “Well, well, well!”
Third — and this is important — Samuel Chavez was drunk. His sister lived in the same trailer park as Peterson’s family, just off U.S. 280 southeast of Americus. Apparently, Chavez had gone to his sister’s trailer, but she wasn’t there. He “consumed several alcoholic beverages” while awaiting her return, then told family members that he was going to the nearby convenience store. It was there Chavez encountered Peterson.
After his body was discovered, an autopsy found that Samuel Chavez had a blood-alcohol content of 0.165 — twice the legal limit for a drunk-driving charge. Chavez was seriously impaired, staggering drunk, and exactly what happened between him and Peterson after the encounter at the store cannot be determined. However, a rape exam was performed on Peterson, and it is reported that Peterson’s DNA was found on Chavez’s penis, but this must be weighed in the context of what her brothers told investigators, i.e., that there was a scheme to lure Chavez with an offer of sex in order to rob him at gunpoint. Peterson has told her (or “his”) version of the story, but dead men tell no tales, so we don’t have Chavez’s version of events. While it’s possible a jury might have found enough reasonable doubt to render a verdict of acquittal, Peterson’s acceptance of a plea deal was her choice. Strip away all the drama about “transphobic sexual violence,” and what you find in The Advocate article (please, read the whole thing) is that perhaps the public defender assigned to Peterson’s case didn’t do a very good job, and there was apparently some confusion about what charge Peterson pleaded guilty to — was it voluntary or involuntary manslaughter? She seems to have thought she was pleading to involuntary manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years, but was instead sentenced to 20 years, which is the maximum for voluntary manslaughter. Whatever the case, however, she was ultimately released after a total of less than nine years behind bars, so what’s the difference at this point? Case closed.
The only real mystery is why Ky Peterson is showing up as a cartoon character on “queer affirming” posters in a Wisconsin public school.
Samuel Chavez could not be reached for comment.
