DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston has announced the conviction of two men in connection with the murder of a transgender woman. On October 4, jurors found JaQuan Brooks, 25, and Davonte Fore, 26, guilty on multiple charges including Malice Murder and Felony Murder for the death of Skyler Gilmore (legal name Chase Gilmore), who was killed on June 4, 2021.
The DeKalb County Police Department responded to a call at an apartment complex in Stone Mountain where they discovered Gilmore unresponsive with a gunshot wound. A friend of Gilmore's had called 911 after speaking with her just before the shooting occurred.
Investigators used cell phone data to link Fore to communications with Gilmore shortly before her death. Surveillance footage showed Brooks and Fore entering the apartment complex prior to the incident. Both men were identified as members of a local gang that allegedly ordered them to kill Gilmore.
Following their convictions, Brooks was taken into custody. However, Fore, who had been released on bond earlier this year despite opposition from the state, failed to appear in court during his trial and is now considered a fugitive. Judge Nora Polk revoked his bond and issued a warrant for his arrest.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorneys Eleanor Friedman and Kelsey Devitto with support from investigators Curtis Averhart, A. Zachary, Christopher Usiak, and Victim Advocate Millicent Taylor. Detective Redrick led the initial investigation.
A sentencing hearing for both defendants will be scheduled soon.