Trial nears for trans prostitute accused of slaying client at famed San Francisco site
With the trial of the transgender prostitute accused of murdering his client at San Francisco’s Crissy Field in 2023 set to begin within weeks, attention is turning to the mountain of evidence prosecutors are seeking to put before the jury, and the self-defense claim expected to be leveled by his attorneys in response.
Prosecutors say Leion Butler shot Hamza Walupupu in the head during a dispute that arose when Walupupu learned that Butler was a ‘transgender woman’ – in effect, a man – after he had already performed a sex act on his client.
He later worked with his mother to cover up his involvement.
In jailhouse calls made weeks after the killing, Butler admits to shooting Walupupu, maintains that his life was in danger, discusses a plot to “plead insanity”, and plans to tell a judge that he should be freed so he can spend Christmas with his family.
Details of Butler’s rap sheet and medical history contained in pretrial submissions paint a picture of an out-of-control young adult, recently diagnosed with HIV, who continued to engage in sex work while periodically punching and pepper-spraying bus passengers, store employees and police officers in the city.
The defendant’s HIV+ status will be kept from the jury. However evidence suggesting that an angry Butler had developed homicidal intent toward another client – not Walupupu – from whom he believed he had contracted the disease may yet be introduced. Butler obtained a gun after learning of the diagnosis.
It is understood that Butler’s attorneys will not deny that their client shot Walupupu, but will instead suggest that the victim was drunk and provoked an incident in which Butler felt he had to act to save his own life.
Experts retained by the defense include a roster of progressive academics, ranging from a psychiatrist who proposes to testify about Butler’s childhood “through a lens that highlights structural racism, structural intersectionality and multisystem collusion”, to a criminologist who will explain that Butler’s failure to call the police was a consequence of his being “a young [b]lack, transgender woman who is engaged in sex work”.
Among the listed witnesses prosecutors may decide to call is Butler’s mother Leslie Blueford – to whom he first confessed and who helped him to clean the stolen vehicle in the immediate aftermath of the killing.
Butler is charged with a single count of second-degree murder. No charges have yet been brought against Blueford.
The trial, which is expected to last up to three weeks, begins on March 17 at San Francisco federal courthouse before U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.
Morning of the killing
Butler was working as a prostitute in the early morning of November 12 2023 when he was approached by Hamza Walupupu with a view to his services being retained. The pair left the Lower Nob Hill neighborhood in Walupupu’s Hyundai Accent and drove at his suggestion some 20 minutes to Crissy Field.
Once they arrived at Crissy Field the defendant performed a sex act. “Afterwards,” prosecutors wrote in an earlier motion, “the victim said he wanted more and, at that point, the defendant told him that [he] was transgender.”
It was then, say prosecutors, that the victim demanded his money back and the defendant refused. There followed an argument between the two with the victim ordering Butler out of the car while Butler, for his part, worried about being stranded, refusing to get out.
“The defendant explained that if [he] had gotten out of the car [he] would have been ‘stranded cold as fuck’ and looked ‘dumb as fuck’…[t]he defendant believed that the victim should take [him] back to where he picked [him] up, and [he] thought the victim was trying to ‘play [him]’.”
At this point, while Walupupu was himself in the process of getting out of the car, Butler shot him once in the face with the .380 handgun he kept in a purse.
Although Butler admitted that his victim continued to move after being shot, he did not render aid and, instead, pulled the stricken man away from the car and drove off. Nearby cameras recorded the vehicle driving away from Crissy Field at 6:12am.
At around 6:25am – 20 minutes or so before sunrise – Walupupu’s body was discovered by a Pixar Studios animator who was taking an early morning walk.
It was 6:37am when other security cameras recorded Butler parking the Accent in the Hunters Point district, where he was met by his mother driving a black Jeep Commander. Butler is seen cleaning the Accent and then departing with his mother a short while later.
Investigators later discovered that, by that evening, Butler was searching for pornography on his phone and then conducted searches relating to the Crissy Field parking lot. In the following days he would continue to search for news stories relating to the killing.
Law enforcement presence in San Francisco was significant on the day of the murder, as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit was already underway and world leaders were about to arrive in the city.
Aftermath and investigation
The FBI immediately identified a vehicle of interest filmed leaving the Presidio. Three days later that car – a gray 2014 Hyundai Accent – was found on Kiska Road in Hunters Point, having been reported to the police for being illegally parked. Investigators noted dried blood on the car
FBI agents recovered footage from surveillance cameras near the location where the car was abandoned. This showed the Hyundai arrive on Kiska Road driven by a “heavy set adult black female” – Butler – who appeared to be speaking on a cellphone.
In short order, a black Jeep Commander driven by Butler’s mother Leslie Blueford arrived and spoke with her daughter through the window. Using materials given provided by Blueford, and taken from the Jeep directly, Butler proceeded to wipe down the Hyundai.
By 6:57am, according to prosecutors, Butler got into the Jeep and was driven away.
A records search undertaken by law enforcement revealed that the Jeep was owned by Blueford who lived on Lisbon Street in San Francisco – and where Butler was arrested on November 20.
An out-of-control young adult
Prosecutors say that Butler’s rap sheet contained numerous incidents where he punched and pepper-sprayed people from whom he was attempting to steal. 17 days before the murder he appeared in San Francisco Superior Court in connection with his spraying mace at concert-goers during a pride event.
He worked as a prostitute and advertised his services on numerous websites where he went by the name ‘Yasmine’. The court had earlier been told that Butler had recently been diagnosed with HIV.
Jail calls monitored by authorities
The jury are expected to hear edited extracts from calls made by Butler to family and friends shortly after her arrest while she was incarcerated in San Francisco County Jail.
“[M]y life was in danger and I felt like I needed to defend myself,” Butler explained during one call.
On another call, while working with a friend on a letter intended for the judge, he says that he wants to be free to see his family for Christmas and that he would promise to attend his hearings if released.
“I deserve freedom. I deserve happiness. I deserve to be with my family,” he said
“I deserve freedom. I deserve happiness. I deserve to be with my family.”
Leion Butler
In the calls, Butler’s attitude shifts. At times, he refuses to apologize: “I don’t think I should say sorry to nobody ‘cos, bitch, I don’t feel sorry for smoking him ‘cos he tried it”. At other times, he claims he acted in self-defense: “I really apologize for anybody that I hurt, but my life was in danger and I felt like I needed to defend myself at that moment or it would have been me.”
Walupupu, who stood 5’10” and weighed 213lbs, was one inch shorter and 80lbs lighter than Butler.
The jury will also hear Butler’s confession made during interviews with FBI agents.
Trial approaches
As the eve of trial approaches defense attorneys appear intent on labeling the victim as a violent drunk – and on excusing Butler’s failure to call police, and instead fleeing and attempting a cover-up, because of the allegedly strained relationship transgender people have with law enforcement.
They intend to field expert witnesses who are focused on diversity, equity and inclusion to buttress their contention – including a psychiatrist, neuropsychologist, criminologist and a doctoral student.
They are also likely to call a forensic scientist to testify to Walupupu’s blood alcohol content found at the autopsy – 0.155% – which is described in their report as “approximately 2x the legal limit to drive”.
Prosecutors have complained of “misleading” statements presented by one expert which, they say, “attempts to blame the victim for his own murder”.
They point out that Butler – armed with a gun and with an 80lb weight and one inch height advantage over his victim – could have taken other actions short of murder even if he had felt in danger.
Selection of the jury of 12, plus four alternates, will begin on March 12. Opening statements are set for March 17.
At a final preparatory hearing yesterday the court’s attention was drawn by prosecutors to a mistake in the indictment which threatened to delay proceedings for months.
It transpired that the charging document had mistakenly alleged that the murder had been committed in an area administered by the Presidio Trust rather than the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston was content that, as both were clearly within federal jurisdiction, it didn’t matter and gave the trial the green light.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelsey Davidson and George Hageman will appear for the prosecution. Attorneys David Rizk and Shaffy Moeel will appear for Butler.
Editor’s note: The defendant was previously known as Christopher Butler, indicted as Leion Butler and will go on trial as Leniyah Butler, having opted to change his name again. For consistency we will continue to use the name Leion Butler in our reporting. At the outset of the prosecution, when the defendant’s sex was less than fully clear, we referred to Butler as “her”. It is apparent that it is more accurate and provides more clarity to describe Butler as “him” and we will do so during this case.
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