The transgender man found badly beaten near the Barge Canal in Burlington Monday morning has died from his injuries, according to Burlington Police.
Police say 38-year-old Amos Beede of Milton was pronounced dead at the University of Vermont Medical Center on Sunday, May 29.
Beede was found on the morning of Monday, May 23 near a homeless encampment near the Barge Canal in Burlington, across from the Dealer.com headquarters building. According to police, “he had sustained facial fractures, a subdermal hematoma, and several broken ribs.”
Because of Beede's transgender status, police say they are still investigating the beating as a possible "bias incident," though Chief Brandon del Pozo said in an email to media that there may have been another motive.
"The deceased was a transgender person who identified as male. The investigation suggests motives on the part of perpetrators independent of this fact," del Pozo said. "The department has not ruled out the victim's transgender status as a possible additional motive, and will seek to determine what role if any it may have played as the investigation continues. Until the attendant facts are clarified, we will continue to view this homicide as a possible bias incident."
Burlington Police say they are looking for two "persons of interest" in connection with the killing.
Erick Averill, 21, and Myia Barber, 23, are “both transient residents of Burlington,” according to a police news release, though police did not say whether they are suspects.
“Anyone with information about the assault or the whereabouts of Averill or Barber are asked to call city police or Champlain Valley Crime Stoppers at (802) 864-6666,” the release said.
Police didn’t release news of the beating until Wednesday, when Beede’s medical outlook appeared questionable.
According to a May 29 release from police, “[t]he exact cause of death will be determined after an examination by the State’s Chief Medical Examiner’s Office.”
