FORREST CITY, Ark. (KTHV) -- Police say the crime scene was brutal on Highway 334 in St. Francis County. Deputies say the evidence left behind gives them a better idea of what happened to 25-year-old Marcal Tye.
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."
Tye was a transgender person, born male, but living as a woman.
May explains, "The victim was well known in this area as a "cross dresser."
A witness heard two gunshots in the area.
Jennifer Bohannon is a good friend of Tye's and says she saw Tye just a few hours before the murder.
She exlpains, "He said he was on his way going home."
Bohannon says Tye lived her lifestyle openly.
She explains, "And when they brought him down here they probably figured out, you know, noticed that he was a "dude" and probably took it from there and shot him and killed him."
Police say they're investigating it as possible hate crime but Arkansas doesn't have a law for that on the books.
Jeana Huie with the Center for Artistic Revolution explains, "It is really saddening that these things still happen in Arkansas."
One of CAR's efforts is to end hate driven violence. She's worked to get a state law passed before but it failed. It's her goal to try again next legislative session.
Huie explains, "It would be justice for people like Tye and other people who have died because of someone else's hate."
Meanwhile, Investigators made plaster impressions of tire tracks. Its evidence that could help them find a getaway car and make an arrest.
Arkansas is one of only five states without a hate crime law. There is a federal one. So, in addition to murder charges, the suspect or suspects could face a federal hate crime charge.
According to the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center, Marcal Tye is one of several transgender murder victims in the mid-south in the last few years.
Tye's body has been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Lab to determine a cause of death.
No word yet on any suspects.
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.