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Advertisement Police: Transgender man's death may not be linked to gender identity Officers look for two persons of interest Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Burlington police are trying to find two people in connection with the deadly beating of a transgender man.Officers are looking for two persons of interest -- Erik Averill, 21, and Myia Barber, 23, -- both transients living in Burlington.Watch this story“We want to be very clear that they are persons of interest and we're looking to talk to them about the investigation,” Lt. Shawn Burke, with the Burlington Police Department, said.On May 22, officers were called to a homeless encampment off of Pine Street, where they say Amos Beede was found lying on the ground.The 38-year-old was a transgender person who identified as a male.Burke said a fight broke out, but not necessarily over Beede's gender identity.“Potentially there could be a bias motivation to this crime,” Burke said. "But as I'm telling you right now, there's no direct information to suggest that this crime was perpetrated solely because of how the victim identified.”Beede was taken to UVM Medical Center, where police said he was treated for several days before he died.“The injuries included several fractures to his face, a series of broken ribs and a brain injury that ultimately led to his death,” Burke said.Burke said the Milton man had strong family ties in Vermont and within his community.“The victim also identified many in the transient community within the city as family or extended family and there's a lot of grief around that,” Burke said.Burke suspects Averill and Barber are still in the Burlington area.Anyone with information is asked to call Burlington Police at 802-658-2704 or Champlain Valley Crimestoppers at 802-864-6666.