Danielle Ferguson

dbferguson@argusleader.com

Jamie Wounded Arrow was on the cusp of a better life.

Though she faced addiction battles and run-ins with the court system, Wounded Arrow got out of a neighborhood plagued with poverty and substance abuse.

Friends say she was proud of her recent sobriety and was close to finally becoming who she wanted to be.

Wounded Arrow was found dead in her apartment the night of Jan. 6.

Joshua Rayvon LeClaire, 25, was arrested two days later. Murder and manslaughter charges were filed Monday and his bond was set for $1 million Tuesday.

Charges filed against man in death of Sioux Falls woman

Wounded Arrow, a 28-year-old transgender woman, had recently started a new life in Sioux Falls after moving from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

She was loving her job at Five Star Call Center. She was enjoying the freedoms of a new-to-her vehicle. Tinker and Belle, her two companion cats, were getting settled into her new apartment.

Franklin Whiting Jr. lives in the same apartment building as Wounded Arrow, two floors above.

Whiting Jr. smiled as he remembered regularly running into Wounded Arrow in the parking lot, both battling the cold to get their cars warmed up before heading to work. He remembers sitting on Wounded Arrow's furniture-less floor and helping her find a bed for her new place.

"Instantly from the time we met, we connected," Whiting Jr. said. "She was easily approachable. Her outgoingness and comforting nature made you gravitate toward her."

When the close friend and neighbor heard of her death, he couldn't believe it.

"I keep thinking she's going to call me or text me," he said Tuesday. "I just have a sad, empty feeling."

Wounded Arrow was an active member of the Sioux Falls Two-Spirit and Allies, a Native American LGBTQ support and advocacy non-profit. Being two-spirit in Lakota culture can be considered sacred or holy. To be two-spirit is to be connected to both male and female genders, Whiting Jr. said.

Wounded Arrow had been taking hormones and was looking forward to undergoing procedures to make her transformation complete, Whiting Jr. said. Court documents referred to Wounded Arrow as "pre-operative transgender female" and used the pronoun "she" in reports.

"She was so looking forward to becoming her," he said. "But to us, she was Jamie. She was female."

Police say there is no evidence pointing toward a hate-motivated crime because of Wounded Arrow's gender identity. But it's still a concern for the Native American and LGBT communities.

"That thought is always there," said Ryan Gerry with Sioux Falls Two-Spirit and Allies. "There's always going to be a lot of speculation. (LeClaire), Jamie and God are the only ones who will ever know for sure."

Wounded Arrow and LeClaire knew each other, but Whiting Jr. and Gerry weren't sure as to how well. Gerry says the two may have spoken over social media, but didn't know how long they had conversed. Police are exploring leads to figure out how the two first met.

LeClaire knew of Wounded Arrow's transgender identity, Whiting Jr. said.

Jozey Dossett met Wounded Arrow at a Sioux Falls halfway house, where the two bonded through talks of new beginnings.

"She had a really big heart. She had a lot of goals she wanted to fulfill," Dossett, 21, said.

Wounded Arrow was proud of her sobriety and told Dossett about her dream to become an addictions counselor over meals at the house.

"She was charismatic, always really bright. Not a lot of people are positive in places like that," he said. "She was a good influence."

Funeral services will be in Pine Ridge, Whiting Jr. said, most likely this Friday or Saturday.

Sioux Falls Two Spirit and Allies created a GoFundMe page and a T-shirt sales campaign to help the family with funeral and other expenses. More information can be found on the organization's Facebook page.