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- Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, refused to apologize and blamed a lack of mental health support for the stabbing death of cab driver Reese Lawhon in April 2023
- Lopez stabbed Lawhon in the neck with bladed brass knuckles following a silent cab ride after 911 dispatchers refused to give her a ride home from a night out
A transgender killer smirked at her victim’s relatives and refused to apologize because her gender identity made her ‘vulnerable’, as she was sentenced to 22 years behind bars.
Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, brutally stabbed cab driver Reese McDowell Lawhon to death in his car in April 2023 with bladed brass knuckles after suffering a mental health episode while on a night out partying in Portland.
Lawhon had picked her up after a 911 operator suggested she call a cab home. Lopez senselessly stabbed him in the chest without provocation.
At her sentencing on Wednesday, Lopez callously justified the murder by blaming a lack of mental health support and a system she saw as failing her.
‘I refuse to apologize for the lack of help I so desperately needed and called and asked for from 911 services,’ Lopez said, reports The Oregonian.
She also moaned that her gender identity meant that she felt ‘targeted,’ and vulnerable to attack the paper reported.
Transgender killer Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, refused to apologize for stabbing a cab driver in the neck with bladed brass knuckles as she was sentenced to 22-years in prison on Wednesday
Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, beams at this attorney following the sentencing
Reese McDowell Lawhon (center) picked up Lopez in his cab in April 2023, and the two had an almost entirely silent ride until she stabbed him in the neck ‘out of the blue’
Cops pronounced Lawhon dead at the scene after his cab was found stopped in traffic at around 7pm on April 9, 2023, in an unprovoked attack
Lopez was initially charged with murdering Lawhon, but later accepted a plea deal that will see her serve only 22-years in prison for manslaughter.
Her victim’s family reacted with outrage at the reduced charges, telling Lopez at her sentencing that she will ‘always be a monster.’
That was the remark that prompted her smirk from the killer, with a spokesman for Lawhon’s former employer Radio Cabs branding her behavior in court ‘disgraceful.’
On the night of Lawhon killing, Lopez had been out partying in downtown Portland, but suffered a mental health breakdown and called 911 for a ride home.
The 911 operator instead suggested she call a cab and pay for a ride home.
After calling Radio Cab, static on the taxi dispatcher’s line led them to enter the wrong address.
‘I ended up in a very scary part of town where I was genuinely afraid,’ Lopez said at her sentencing, claiming her gender identity leaves her often feeling targeted.
Surveillance footage from inside the cab showed the trip was almost entirely silent, until Lawhon realized the mistake and tried to turn around under a highway overpass.
At that moment, Lopez lunged forward and stabbed Lawhon in the neck ‘completely out of the blue’, detectives said.
Police were called to the scene shortly before 7pm after motorists reported the cab stopped in the middle of traffic, and officers found the driver slumped over his steering wheel.
He had been stabbed in the neck and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lopez was quickly apprehended by cops in the nearby area, and paramedics said she was seen exiting the cab covered in blood, and dropped a pair of brass knuckles with an attached blade to the ground.
After her arrest, Lopez said she was having a mental health crisis and that was the reason for calling 911 for help – a narrative she stuck to at her sentencing as she refused to apologize.
However, those that knew Lawhon said he was a ‘kind soul’, and would have certainly helped her if she had told him she was struggling.
The deranged killer was seen grinning and smiling during the sentencing hearing
Lawhon’s loved ones said he certainly would have helped Lopez if she told him she was struggling, as he was described as ‘an exceptional person with time for everyone’
Lopez sparked outrage at her sentencing as she smirked at her victim’s relatives when they branded her a ‘monster’
His former colleague Darin Campbell told KPTV: ‘She never once said a single word in that cab ride. If she would’ve said to Reese, ‘I need help’ he would have helped her.
‘Her assistance would’ve been right there in the front seat of that car. It could’ve been very different.’
‘The excuses that were made in the courtroom today for (Lopez’s) actions are disgraceful,’ Campbell added.
‘Our opinion is she is a homicidal mentally ill individual who should never be set free ever again. The Radio Cab management team that unfortunately had to see the video of the murder of Reese Lawhon are traumatized, I being one of them.’
Just days before the killing, Lopez had been arrested for threatening two employees at a supermarket, and was charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing and weapons charges.
She failed to turn up to court on those charges, but the case was dismissed as part of a plea deal over Lawhon’s killing that reduced her murder charges to manslaughter.
The plea deal was accepted by Lawhon’s sisters as they said they didn’t want to put their parents through more grief, but slated the deal even being proposed and felt justice was not done.
‘When Moses gets out in 20 years – assuming she’s still alive which trust me I hope she’s not – I look forward to testifying against her for whatever senseless crime she commits next, because she will,’ his sister, Claire Pearce, told KATU.
His older sister, Natalie Boenker, added: ‘I am haunted daily by what Reese must have felt in those last 45 seconds. I wonder, was he scared? Did he think of us? Was he in pure shock? And was he in pain?’
Campbell also condemned the plea deal, saying he believed ‘the defense team took advantage of Reese’s family being at a higher age and having to travel a long distance, that they were able to get this plea.’
Lawhon was known as a talented musician and artist, and had previously toured with the Smashing Pumpkins during his music career with band Aan
Tributes poured in for Lawhon following his untimely death, with a close friend saying that if you knew him ‘you loved him’ and he didn’t have ‘an enemy anywhere in the world’
At Lopez’ sentencing, his sister Claire said she had to explain to Lawhon’s nieces and nephews what happened, saying: ‘We tell our kids so many times that monsters aren’t under the bed or in the closet, but it’s all a lie… Moses Lopez is a monster and will always be one.’
The remark led Lopez to smirk at the relative, which prompted one of her own defense attorneys to frown and shake her head, reports Oregon Live.
Tributes have poured in for Lawhon following his death, with those that knew him describing him as a kindhearted and friendly person.
He was adopted, and had reportedly just located his biological parents and was planning to meet them before he was killed.
Lawhon was known to enjoy art and music, and his obituary states that while he was at school, he was described by his art teacher as a ‘Mozart in the visual arts.’
‘A gifted musician, he played the guitar and a set of homemade drums while in high school,’ the obituary continued, as he went on to join indie rock band Aan as a bassist and singer.
His music career also included touring with the Smashing Pumpkins, the obituary said.
Lawhon was adopted, and had reportedly just located his biological parents and was planning to meet them before he was killed
‘Reese was an exceptional person with time for everyone,’ the obituary concluded.
‘He exuded a calm confidence and often gifted his friends with timely and comedic quips. He was a keen observer of humanity and a welcome presence in any group. He was a great hugger. He respected people from all walks of life.
‘Reese never lost a friend; he just kept adding them and they never left.’
After his death, the Gladney Center for Adoption created the Reese McDowell Lawhon Scholarship Fund in his name, to help adoptive families.
His band paid a touching tribute on Facebook, saying that if you knew Lawhon, ‘you loved him.’
‘I don’t think he had an enemy anywhere in the world… The void of losing him will last my entire lifetime. Best man in my wedding. First person I called when my dad passed. Always available, comforting, and rational. It’s just too much and not real yet. Infinite love for this beautiful soul.’
