A Blaine man was convicted of murder on Tuesday in the January slaying of Christopher "Krissy" Bates, a crime that outraged the Twin Cities transgender community.
Arnold Darwin Waukazo, 41, was convicted of second-degree murder but found not guilty of first-degree murder in the stabbing and strangling of Bates, 45, at the Minneapolis apartment where Bates lived. Bates, also known as Krissy Corley, was biologically male but lived as a woman.
Hennepin County District Judge Allen Oleisky, who heard the case without a jury, announced the verdict. Sentencing was set for Dec. 27.
Bates had begun dating Waukazo a couple of weeks before the slaying, according to charges. Waukazo told police the two had argued and that he "dispatched" Bates by strangling her and then stabbing her with a folding knife. He claimed at trial that his actions were in self-defense.
ABBY SIMONS
