DALLAS (AP) — A 29-year-old Dallas man has been given 10 years of probation in the death of his transgender girlfriend.
Jonathan Stuart Kenney pleaded guilty to aggravated assault as part of a plea deal Sept. 15 in the October 2012 death of 43-year-old Janette Tovar. He had been originally charged with murder, but was re-indicted on a charge of aggravated assault. Prosecutors classified the assault as family violence, not a hate crime.
According to authorities, the couple had been fighting when Kenney slammed Tovar’s head against concrete. Tovar later died of blunt force trauma.
Tovar’s family members were upset about Kenney’s sentence, and held signs in court that referenced the Trans Lives Matter movement.
If Kenney violates the conditions of his probation, he may be sentenced to life in prison.
