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According to those who knew her, January Lapuz had a huge personality and a sense of humour that was infectious. She had love to give, a giant heart and hopes for her future. And in spite of the challenges of gender transitioning, poverty and racism, she was always positive.

Then, at age 26, Lapuz was stabbed 18 times by a client after an argument over payment for a sexual encounter.

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Lapuz’s killer, Charles Jameson (Jamie) Neel, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2014 and was sentenced to eight years in prison. Neel was released on parole last June but had his statutory release revoked last week after violating the conditions of his release.

“What happened to January was a tragedy. She was taken from her community, her friends, her family,” said her friend Alex Sangha.

Neel’s lawyers argued the attack was not a hate crime, but Sangha, a clinical counsellor, doesn’t believe it.Sangha said he was “very, very disturbed” by the short prison sentence and that the killing was not treated as a hate crime.