FORREST CITY, Ark. (KTHV) - The St. Francis County Sheriff's Office says they do not have any new leads in the murder investigation of a transgender person.
"Occasionally it will come up and we're still open on it," says Sheriff Bobby May of St. Francis County.
Marcel Tye, 25, was murdered in March 2011. Her body was found along Highway 334 in St. Francis County. Tye was a transgender person, born male, but living as a woman.
The FBI ruled that Tye's murder was not a hate crime. Sheriff Bobby May says, "It appeared to be that he did have a head wound and also that he had been drug by a car."
Investigators believe Tye was shot to death then probably dragged underneath the killer's car.
"We still have the casings," says Sheriff May.
The FBI ruled that Tye's murder was not a hate crime. At the time of the murder, investigators made plaster impressions of tire tracks, hoping it would lead to a vehicle involved.
"It had rained considerably and the tracks were more like ruts in the side of the road," says Sheriff May.
Sheriff May also says the tracks and DNA revealed nothing. He adds they now have a profile of the killer, and that the man likely is between 25 and 50, married and a resident of Forrest City.
Sheriff May believes the two had an ongoing sexual relationship and Tye got into the car willingly. Then he says that with Tye in front of the vehicle, the killer ran over her fleeing the scene.
The sheriff says his department will need the assistance of Tye's friends, other Forrest City transgender residents to solve the crime. He says the community will not talk, possibly out of fear of retaliation.
If you have any information on Tye's murder, call the St. Francis County Sheriff's Department on their 24 hour tip line at (870) 633-2611. You can remain anonymous.