Sex worker says she fatally shot client after argument at Crissy Field
SAN FRANCISCO - A sex worker has been charged in the killing of a 32-year-old man near Crissy Field. The suspect told investigators that she shot the man when he became angry after learning she is transgender, according to court filings.
The victim, identified as Hamza Walupupu, had approached Leniyah Butler, who was working as a sex worker, and said he wanted a date that included "everything" on Nov. 12, court documents state.
After the pair discussed prices, Walupupu allegedly said he needed to head to an ATM. When he retrieved his cash, Butler told investigators that she wanted to pull over somewhere nearby. However, Walupupu drove her about 20 minutes to Crissy Field, which Butler said took her "out of her element."
Court documents say that Butler performed oral sex on Walupupu, who said he wanted more. When Butler told Walupupu that she was transgender, he immediately demanded his money back, she told investigators. Butler believed she had earned the money fairly, and refused, telling investigators "there's no money back… I was never giving [the money] back to him."
Walupupu demanded that Butler get out of his car, which Butler said made her feel disrespected because she didn't want to walk all the way home. When Butler refused to get out of the car, Walupulu began to step out of the car. That's when Butler said she took out her gun and shot Walupupu in the head, court records state.
Butler told investigators that she kept the gun in her purse, and right before she shot him, she saw "hella different angles and ways on how I’m gonna do it," court documents state.
After the shooting, investigators say Butler took further steps to avoid detection by law enforcement. She allegedly pushed Walupulu's body out of the car before driving off in it. She drove to a place nearby and called her mother for help.
Butler, "with the help of her mother, disposed of the Victim’s belongings, the blood-stained clothing she was wearing, the purse she was carrying, and her gun," the criminal complaint says. Surveillance video from the night of the shooting also showed Butler destroying evidence, investigators say.
Walupupu's body was found early the next morning in the Crissy Field parking lot.
When the FBI executed a search warrant at her residence, Butler allegedly jumped out of a second-story window and ran to avoid being detained by law enforcement. She was eventually detained after being found in a neighbor's garage.
Butler has been charged with one count of second-degree murder in the U.S. Northern District of California. She is currently being held without the option of bail because she is considered a danger to the community, the prosecution team states.