A man who was convicted of killing a transgender woman in 2023 was sentenced to over three decades in prison on Wednesday.

After a weeklong trial this summer, a jury found 25-year-old Damarean Kaylon Bible guilty of one count of second-degree murder in the death of 39-year-old Savannah Williams.

On Wednesday, a judge sentenced Bible to more than 30½ years (367 months). Under Minnesota sentencing guidelines, he will serve two-thirds of that sentence in prison and the rest under supervised probation.

As previously reported, Bible shot and killed Williams on the morning of Nov. 29, 2023, along the 3000 block of Fourth Avenue South.

According to a criminal complaint, Bible told investigators he had walked past Williams, who was in a bus shelter, and Williams asked if he was interested in sex. They went to a courtyard, and once they were finished, Bible said Williams was making him suspicious so he shot her.

At Wednesday’s sentencing, prosecuting attorney James Hanneman brought up Bible’s version of events, suggesting he killed Williams “because of who she was.”

“After engaging in sex with Ms. Williams, he ‘saw her face and was startled,'” Hanneman said. “In other words, he realized she was transgender in that moment.”

Bible apologized to Williams’ family members and romantic partner, who were in the courtroom before Judge Juan Hoyos laid out the details of the sentence.

“She was just a member of our community. No labels, no race, just a member of our community and you took advantage of that person in a vulnerable time and took her life,” Hoyos said. “And that warrants a serious sentence in accordance with the acts you committed.”