By: Eric Czarnik | Sterling Heights Sentry | Published September 18, 2023
STERLING HEIGHTS — A Sterling Heights resident was recently sentenced for the 2018 murder of a transgender woman in Detroit.
In December 2018, a Detroit police officer reportedly discovered the body of 36-year-old Detroit resident Kelly Stough in the area of East McNichols Road and Brush Street in Detroit. Stough was fatally shot, police said.
Shortly afterward, Albert Weathers, of Sterling Heights, was arrested and charged with open murder and using a firearm while committing a felony. At the time, Weathers was described as a church pastor.
According to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, this past summer, on July 27, Weathers pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and felony firearm. Prosecutors say that as part of a plea agreement, Weathers will serve eight years in prison for the murder charge and two years for the firearm charge. Prosecutors say Weathers was formally sentenced Sept. 8 before Wayne County Third Circuit Court Judge Bridget Hathaway.
In a statement, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy described the latest developments: “yet another step was taken to protect our trans community members.”
“Defendant Albert Weathers pled guilty this morning to the murder of Kelly Stough. She will not be forgotten. She mattered. We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who bring harm to this and other Wayne County communities,” Worthy said.
When asked about a possible motive for the crime, Maria Miller, an assistant prosecuting attorney with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office, wrote in an email that “nothing was placed on the record regarding the motive for Weathers who was a minister at the time, to murder Ms. Stough, a transgender woman.”
Miller explained how the plea agreement took shape.
“The plea to Murder 2 with a sentence agreement of 8 to 16 years and 2 years for the Felony Firearm was a result that the Prosecution and Ms. Stough’s family agreed upon,” Miller said.
Alanna Maguire, the president of the Fair Michigan Justice Project — which collaborates with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office on serious cases affecting LGBTQ people — also commented on the sentencing in a statement.
“This guilty plea hopefully brings a long-awaited sense of closure to the family and friends of Kelly Stough,” Maguire said. “Further, it demonstrates a firm commitment to justice from the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and our team at the Fair Michigan Justice Project.”
Weathers’ attorneys were listed as Gabi Silver and David Cripps. Cripps spoke to the Sentry about the plea agreement.
“After months of negotiation, we were able to reach what I believe is a fair resolution of this case,” Cripps said. “We didn’t want to put the deceased’s family through any more turmoil.”
Learn more about the Fair Michigan Justice Project by visiting fairmichigan.org.