Darnel Esco remains in Travis County Jail with a bond set for $150,000 following his arrest for the brutal stabbing of a woman in the early morning hours of Wednesday, July 24. The victim, a trans woman experiencing homelessness, required surgery to remove part of her spleen. She also suffered fractures to her head and damage to her diaphragm. As of Saturday, she was still in critical condition; Austin police have not yet responded to requests for an update on her status.
Esco, who is also without a home, has a history of violence. Police told Fox 7, the first outlet to report the attack, that he’s been arrested several times for “aggravated assaults,” including last year when he pleaded guilty to assault with injury after a stabbing Downtown. According to jail records, he also has an outstanding warrant for injury to an elderly person; it’s unclear, however, when that attack took place. Last week’s attack occurred along Waller Creek between Seventh and Eighth streets.
Little has been said regarding whether or not the attack was motivated by anti-trans violence, but the police report does make mention of “Hate Crime Information.” However, Texas’ hate crime laws still don’t include gender identity.
Following the murder – and subsequent misgendering and dead-naming – of Monica Loera in 2016, APD announced the creation of “victim-neutral” affidavits. The idea, as we reported in 2017, was to “remove the name and gender of violent crime victims to reduce the potential for officer error by allowing additional time to confirm gender identity.” A few months later, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office told us it was working with APD to roll out gender-neutral probable-cause affidavits. However, Esco’s report information is not gender-neutral, and at least one local media outlet originally misgendered the victim while reporting on the assault.
This article appears in August 2 • 2019.