A 22-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder in the death of Persia Amarra Conway, the transgender woman whose body was found May 25 near Brays Bayou in Houston.
ABC Channel 13 Eyewitness News reported that Daniel Ceron was arrested Wednesday, June 10, and has been charged with murder in connection with Conway’s death. Court records show that Ceron, also wanted in connection with a burglary case in Fort Bend County, allegedly beat Conway to death with his hands.
Police have not commented on any motive Ceron may have had in killing Conway.
Channel 13 and other sources say that numerous pieces of evidence led Houston police to Ceron, including his name tag from the auto parts store where he worked that Conway had managed to rip from his shirt during the struggle.
Police also pointed to video showing Ceron disposing of physical evidence, including a cell phone, a pair of slippers and pieces of acrylic nails, as well as video in which Ceron talked about having murdered someone.
Police said that while he was being questioned after his arrest, Ceron confessed to having murdered Conway.
Conway’s mother, Michelle Simmons of Georgia, told reporters that people in the Houston community and sent her several videos implicating Ceron in her daughter’s death, and that she had sent those videos to Houston police.
According to Harris County Jail inmate records, Ceron is being held without bond. His next court date is noted as Tuesday, June 16.
Simmons, who said she had been targeted with deaths threats and inundated with hateful messages for having supported her daughter, noted that Conway had just moved to Houston last December. She described her daughter as “a proud trans woman with a loving family.”
To those sending her threats and hate mail, Simmons said only, “I pray you are never in the position I am in.”
— Tammye Nash
