Pastor in Murder of Transgender Woman Accused of Regularly Paying for Sex Work

New testimony in the case of Albert Weathers, a Sterling Heights pastor charged with the murder of transgender woman Kelly Stough last December, alleges Weathers has a history of interacting with sex workers in the Palmer Park neighborhood over the past decade.
A preliminary hearing held at the 36th District Court in Detroit before Judge Michael Wagner on Monday, Feb. 24 brought forth new testimony from Kyra Butts, a self-identified transgender sex worker who was close friends with Stough. Butts, who was interviewed by Fair Michigan Justice Project Special Prosecutor Jaimie Powell Horowitz, testified she’s seen Weathers frequent the area around Six Mile and Woodward – an area known for its high population of sex workers – as far back as 2008.
Butts said she’s been on several “dates” with Weathers in which he’d pick her up in his car, though the exact number she couldn’t remember. “He was one of the guys that I hooked up with,” she told the court. “He would drive around a lot before he would pick someone up.”
Butts stopped going on dates due to Weathers’ “intimidating” and “aggressive” attitude, she said, as well as his repeated behavior of changing their agreed upon transaction price. She told the court she saw Weathers again in the area just a week before the murder.
The court also heard testimony from Eddie Neal-Price, a passerby who said he witnessed a woman – believed to be Stough – shoved out of a car on Dec. 7, 2018 in the area of Six Mile and Brush. Neal-Price called 911 to report the incident before driving off. Stough had been shot to death as a result of a dispute over payment for sex services, according to authorities.
More testimony will be heard at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 11 before Wagner.