28 year old Bernina Mata was a bi-sexual woman who lived with a man named Russell. Her and Russell would sometimes hook up for sex. On June 27th, 1998, Russell dropped Bernina off at a tavern. Bernina met a man named John there and brought him home for a nightcap. Bernina and John became intimate and Russell rushed in to put a stop to it. While Russell held John back, Bernina stabbed John and killed him. The prosecutor and jury were biased with the prosecution calling Bernina a man hating, hard core lesbian.
True crime quickie is from Houston, Texas in 2024, The Murder of Vanity Williams.
https://www.patreon.com/c/rainbowcrimes
Promo for: Box in the Basement
Intro: Shire Girl by David Fesilyan
Outro: Beating Heart by David Renda
Resources:
https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/il-supreme-court/1273448.html
https://law.justia.com/cases/illinois/court-of-appeals-second-appellate-district/2004/2030446.html#:~:text=On%20January%2011%2C%202003%2C%20former,without%20the%20possibility%20of%20parole.
https://www.freebryce.org/
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/stories/illinois-death-row-inmates-granted-commutation-by-governor-george-ryan-on-january-12-2003
https://www.ruthannrobson.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/lesbians_death-penalty-hard-core-case-.pdf
https://www.advocate.com/crime/vanity-williams-trans-woman-killed
https://www.hrc.org/news/vanity-williams-black-transgender-woman-who-created-and-made-a-safe-space-for-everyone-killed-in-houston-texas
https://cw39.com/crime/arrest-made-after-woman-is-murdered-in-downtown-houston-central-business-district-apartment-lobby/
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2025/07/germanys-parliament-banned-the-pride-flag-it-backfired-spectacularly/?utm_campaign=good-news-newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_edition=202508020100&utm_source=newsletter
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