Man, an early activist for 'transgender' rights, sentenced to life in prison without parole after brutal triple homicide

Warning: Graphic content.

A California man who first made national news in 1999 after he was fired from his job as a public high school teacher for presenting himself as female and discussing his so-called gender transition with students has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the gruesome murders of three people.

On Wednesday, 68-year-old Dana Rivers, who formerly went by David Chester Warfield, was sentenced to life for the 2016 brutal slaying of Charlotte Reed, 56; her lesbian partner, Patricia Wright, 57; and Wright's adopted son, Benny Toto Diambu-Wright, 19.

The details of the crime are enough to churn even the hardiest of stomachs. Rivers not only shot Reed twice but then stabbed her more than 40 times, spending much of his time butchering her face and neck. Wright had also been shot and stabbed. Diambu-Wright, who had just graduated from high school, managed to run outside in an attempt to escape his assailant, but he made it only as far as the driveway before succumbing to his injuries. He had been shot in the heart.

The evidence against Rivers was overwhelming. Police caught him attempting to flee the scene on his motorcycle, which he had nicknamed "Barbie." He had been wearing Reed's clothes, was drenched in blood, and was found in possession of a handgun fitted with a silencer, loaded magazines, a bloody knife, and marijuana. "I know I'm in trouble," he reportedly said at the time.

Left: Patricia Wright | Center: Benny Diambu-Wright | Right: Charlotte Reed (Screenshot of Clive Simpson YouTube video)

Last fall, an Alameda County jury spent just a few hours to determine that Rivers was guilty of three first-degree murders, and a motion for a new trial was quickly dismissed. During the sentencing hearing, Judge Scott Patton claimed, "This is the most depraved crime I ever handled in the criminal justice system in 33 years." Patton admitted that sentencing someone "to die in prison" is "a horrible thing" and nothing to take "lightly," but he insisted it was the only just sentence in this case.

"Frankly, you deserve to spend the rest of your life in prison," Patton told Rivers.

Wright's brother, Richard Wright, also spoke at the hearing, calling his sister a "peacemaker" and the "rubber band" that held his family together. "When Dana Rivers killed my sister, she broke that rubber band," Wright said, referring to Rivers using a female pronoun.

But Rivers is not a woman. In fact, he spent more than four decades of his life openly as a man. Then in 1999, he decided to become Dana Rivers and began dressing and acting as a woman. In defiance of his superiors at Center Unified School District, he discussed his so-called transition openly with students. At the time, one parent reported that he had informed students that he had been "sodomized as a youth and that he always felt he was a woman trapped in a man’s body and that he was going to be changing into a woman." The school board later voted 3-2 to fire him.

Afterward, Rivers began engaging in further activism related to what is now known as gender ideology. He was a guest lecturer at several prominent universities, including Stanford and UC Davis, and also gave keynote speeches at events for the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the Tiffany Club, which helps those suffering from "gender confusion," Reduxx reported. He even joined the Deviants MC, an all-women's biker gang.

He met Reed, one of his victims, through the Deviants, though Reed later left the group because it had become "too political" for her taste. It was a decision that ultimately cost her her life. Even after her departure, Rivers continued to reach out to Reed, who began to feel unsafe. Reed's daughter also worried that Rivers might harm her mother, Reduxx added.

Despite those concerns, Reed allowed Rivers to enter the home she shared with Wright and Wright's son on November 11, 2016. Reports indicate that Rivers waited until everyone was asleep before attacking them in a murderous rampage.

Rivers did not speak at the sentencing hearing. Reduxx suggested that after the hearing was over, Rivers was taken to San Quentin, a men's prison, for processing, but the outlet harbors little hope that he will serve his sentence among men. "Male inmates do not need to identify as transgender to request transfer [to a women's prison]," Reduxx reported, "and can simply identify gender non-conforming, or non-binary." The outlet also indicated that such transfer requests are often granted.

As of Thursday afternoon, the online public inmate locator system for the California Department of Corrections did not have any listing for Dana Rivers or David Warfield.

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