Milwaukee transgender woman homicide; Cordell Howze pleads not guilty
MILWAUKEE - Cordell Howze pleaded not guilty on Thursday, May 11 to charges against him in connection with the killing of Milwaukee transgender woman Cashay Henderson in February, online court records say.
Howze faces one count of first-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, habitual criminality repeater and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, habitual criminality repeater.
Firefighters found Henderson, 31, inside her apartment near 29th and Villard on Feb. 26 with a gunshot wound while they were responding to a fire.
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Prosecutors say Cordell Howze was captured by surveillance cameras in the area near Cashay Henderson's apartment near 29th and Villard at the time she was killed.
At the scene of the fire around 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 26, investigators found an unfired 9mm cartridge and items that indicated arson, such as a gas can. Henderson was unconscious and not breathing. Investigators noted there was a dead snake on scene. The fire was ruled arson.
Cashay Henderson
An autopsy revealed Henderson was shot twice. Her death was ruled a homicide.
On Feb. 27, the day after Henderson was found dead, the friend told investigators Howze showed up at his home with a firearm that had a laser beam. He said Howze pointed the weapon at his wife's head, describing Howze as "acting strange" with a "blank stare" on his face, the complaint says. He said Howze showed him a video that appeared to show a dead woman with blood on her head. Also in the video was an aquarium with a snake in it -- consistent with the snake found dead in Henderson's apartment after the fire.
According to the criminal complaint, Howze told his friend, "I caught the body of a disgusting (expletive) tran." His friend knew this to mean Howze had killed a transgender person.
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Afterward, Howze said he put his phone in airplane mode, so the police couldn't track it. He told his friend he wanted to kill "several other people." His friend told him to leave because "he was pointing the gun at people," the complaint says.
Howze's mother told investigators that after the murder, Howze gave her a Gucci purse and a Rolex watch -- items that belonged to Henderson, according to prosecutors.
At Howze's grandmother's house, prosecutors say there were three pieces of mail belonging to Henderson, "consistent with the evidence that Howze went to her house, killed her, attempted to burn the house and stole her purse, watch and mail."