DETROIT (WWJ) A Highland Park man pleaded guilty to shooting and killing a transgender woman last summer at a hotel on Woodward.
According to court records; Carlos Scotland, 18, pleaded to Second Degree Murder and a Felony Firearms weapons charge on Friday—in connection to the death of Asia Davis, 36 of Highland Park.
The Wayne County Prosecutors Office said Highland Park officers were called to the Woodward Inn on Woodward at Church, near the Davison, for a reported shooting on June 1st, 2023 around 11:00 p.m.
When officers entered the hotel room, they found Davis dead with a bullet wound to her head.
According to prosecutors, Scotland fired the gun and killed Davis before leaving the scene. Investigation conducted by Michigan State Police led to his arrest over six months later on March 12, 2024.
"Ms. Davis was a transgender woman of color who was murdered on the first day of Pride Month on June 1, 2023. She was beloved in her community and was known to be a generous and compassionate person according to her family and many friends….” Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a March press release. “At the time of her death, she had recently completed nursing school and was going to start a new job when her life was tragically cut short.”
Worthy also charged Scotland with First Degree Murder, Carrying Concealed Weapon and Assaulting/Resisting/Obstructing Police Officer. Those charges were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea of Second Degree Murder and Felony Firearms.
Scotland, only 17 at the time of the murder, was charged as an adult.
Worthy declined to comment on a motive for the murder—including if Davis was targeted because she was transgender.
This case was investigated with help from the Fair Michigan Justice Project (FMJP), a program that assists Michigan law enforcement officers and prosecutors in solving serious crimes against lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons.
A jury trial—slated to start on Monday, November 18th— was scrapped after Scotland’s guilty plea. His sentencing is scheduled for January 10th.