Suspect in murder of UES antiques dealer transitions to female
Trans inmate, 26, who ‘killed antique dealer, 65, in New York City apartment’ after meeting on dating app appears in court as a woman and is called ‘Miss’ after transitioning on Rikers Island and being moved to female jail
- Alex Ray Scott, 26, is transitioning to female while facing murder charges in NYC
- Scott was arrested in January 2020 on suspicion of killing Kenneth Savinski, 64
- The much younger suspect is said to have met the victim on a dating app
- Prison records now list Scott as female, and she is being housed in women’s jail
- Scott’s attorney referred to her with female pronouns at a hearing on Wednesday
A biologically male murder suspect who is charged with killing an antiques dealer in New York City is transitioning from male to female while awaiting trial, DailyMail.com can reveal.
Alex Ray Scott, 26, appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday with a dramatically altered appearance, and Scott’s attorney used female pronouns to address the alleged killer.
City jail records also now list Scott as female, and show that she is being housed at a Rikers Island detention center reserved for female adults and adolescents.
Scott was originally booked as a male in January 2020 on charges of murder, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property in connection to the death of 64-year-old Kenneth Savinski, after reportedly meeting the victim on a dating app.
Savinski, a respected antiques dealer and decorator, was found dead in his Upper East Side apartment, with a deep gash in his head and neck wounds.
Just after midnight two days later, Scott allegedly walked into a Manhattan police station covered in blood, saying, ‘I think I may have killed someone last night.’
Accused killer Alex Ray Scott, 26, appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Wednesday with a dramatically altered appearance after transitioning to female on Rikers Island
City jail records also now list Scott as female, and show that she is being housed at a Rikers Island detention center reserved for female adults and adolescents
Scott’s attorney used female pronouns to address the alleged killer at Wednesday’s hearing
Scott was originally booked as a male in January 2020 (seen above) on charges of murder, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property
Victim Kenneth Savinski (center) is seen with two friends in 2006. He moved his antique store to NYC from Maryland in 2000 and received a favorable mention in the New York Times
Scott’s attorney, Jessica Horani, declined to comment when reached by DailyMail.com.
However, in court at Wednesday’s hearing, Horani referred to Scott as ‘Miss’ and used female pronouns with her client. The hearing related to motions seeking expert evaluations.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed that Scott is transitioning to female behind bars, and said the issue is delicate, because not all of the Oklahoma native’s family have been informed of her transition.
Scott has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case, and has now been held without bail for more than two years, with few developments in court as the case makes its way to trial.
The grim murder case first unfolded at about 5.20pm on January 27, 2020 when a friend who hadn’t heard from Savinski for some time went to check on him at his Upper East Side apartment on 83rd Street near Park Avenue.
The friend made a grim discovery, and cops rushed to the scene and found Savinski with a deep gash in his head and neck wounds. He was declared dead at the scene.
Initially, police were uncertain whether Savinski had tripped and suffered accidental injuries. But closer examination revealed that the antique dealer’s throat had been slit, and blood splatter indicated he had been attacked.
Scott has pleaded not guilty to all charges in the case, and has now been held without bail for more than two years as the case winds its way to trial
Scott’s attorney, Jessica Horani, referred to Scott as ‘Miss’ and used female pronouns with her client at Wednesday’s hearing
Following Savinski’s murder, Scott allegedly walked into a Manhattan police station covered in blood, saying, ‘I think I may have killed someone last night’
Alex Ray Scott appears in Manhattan Supreme Court for a hearing on Wednesday
Police searched for a motive in the case, and it was not immediately clear if investigators had identified Scott as a suspect before he surrendered at the 19th Precinct on East 67th Street.
But just a few hours earlier, the New York Daily News reports, Scott was allegedly seen walking out of the apartment building, wearing Savinski’s black jacket and counting money with noticeable hand injuries.
Scott then allegedly used Savinski’s credit cards to pay for a hotel room in New Jersey, where the alleged killer woke up the next day, covered in blood with little memory of what had happened the night before, according to the Daily News.
Scott returned to the Savinski’s apartment the night after the killing, prosecutors said. Surveillance video at the time showed Scott arriving and then quickly leaving after noticing police officers, the New York Times reports.
Prosecutors now claim Scott choked Savinski, bashed him on the head and slit his throat, using various throw pillows to try to soak up the blood from his wounds.
Murder victim Kenneth Savinski (left) is seen with a friend at an event at Bergdorf Goodman’s Restaurant ‘BG’ in 2006. Savinski was an antiques dealer and decorator
Victim Kenneth Savinski, 64, was found dead in the living room of his first floor apartment on E. 83rd St. near Park Ave. about 5.20 p.m. on January 27, 2020
Investigators are seen working the scene after Savinski’s murder in January 2020
Savinski and Scott had been in a romantic relationship, sources told the New York Daily News.
Detectives say the two men had met the night before and that Savinski brought Scott home for what he believed would be a ‘romantic liaison,’ the Manhattan district attorney’s office said.
Scott made incriminating statements to investigators after surrendering, a police source told the New York Post.
The suspect was found in possession of five stolen credit cards, according to the Post.
Originally from Tulsa, Oklahoma, Scott was previously under investigation for child molestation in that state, stemming from accusations in September 2018.
At that time identifying as man, Scott was accused of forcing a co-worker’s five-year-old son to engage in oral sex, according to the New York Times.
Scott is seen in a 2018 mugshot during his arrest on lewd molestation charges in Tulsa
Scott is seen at a 2017 fashion show fundraiser supporting the Children’s Abuse Network
Police in Tulsa say that before they could interview Scott about the allegations, he quit his job, left his apartment and rented a car that he never returned.
In October, cops on Long Island made contact with Scott, who told them he had driven there in order to kill himself.
Scott was taken to a psychiatric hospital for observation and later transported back to Tulsa to be charged there with two counts of lewd molestation.
He said in a statement to the police that he had fled to New York ‘to get away from that case,’ according to court documents.
He had apparently been in New York City for several weeks before Savinski’s murder, according to prosecutors in Manhattan, and was staying in hotels and in people’s apartments. He seemed to have little connection to the city.
Scott’s court-appointed lawyer, Jessica Horani, said at the time he did not remember much of the says surrounding the murder and suggested that he might have been deliberately drugged.
Social media posts indicate that Scott previously worked for a property management firm in Tulsa.
In 2017, he was pictured at a fashion show event to raise funds for the Children’s Abuse Network of Tulsa. His employer at the time said the event raised $30,000.
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