Naman Shrestha
Ironically, the life of the party, Jaheim Pugh Jaheim Barbie, who used to go by the pronouns he/him/his and she/her/hers, lost his life at a Christmas party in 2020. The tragedy was inspected by the authorities in order to find the person/s responsible while Jaheim’s loved ones grieved and reminisced their memories with him. The first episode of season 2 of ‘True Crime Story: It Couldn’t Happen Here’ provides the viewers with a detailed account of the entire murder case of Jaheim, including the aftermath that followed.
Jaheim Pugh Jaheim Barbie Was Killed at a Christmas Party
Born in the early 2000s, Jaheim Pugh Jaheim Barbie was the child of two loving parents, Tiffany Pugh and Antonio Ruggs, who showered him with love whenever they got a chance. He shared their love with his sister, Sante, who accompanied him in the household. According to his close ones, he used to light up the room he walked into with his loving and lively personality. Thanks to his energetic and fun persona, people enjoyed his company. His mother, Tiffany, reported that Jaheim identified as both a man and a woman. While most reports identified him as a man, some stated that he did not reveal his gender-nonconforming identity.
However, he was known to prefer wearing feminine clothing. As per his family and friends, he was a big fan of Nicki Minaj’s music and had several big aspirations, like traveling the world. Moreover, while he was “trying to figure it all out,” Jaheim aspired to become an entertainer and used Bella as his stage name. Soon, tragedy struck the family as Jaheim Pugh Jaheim Barbie’s life full of dreams and ambitions was cut short on December 13, 2020. During a family gathering and a Christmas celebration in Prichard, Alabama, he lost his life in an unexpected turn of events.
At the time of his tragic demise, Jaheim was in the early stages of transitioning. Not long after the news spread across the community, his family and friends shared how much they would miss him by sharing photos and videos of their time together on social media platforms. Jaheim’s family was very supportive of his gender expression as they told a local news outlet, “I loved him with everything in me … that’s why he could shine like he did. Everything I had I poured into Jaheim.”
Jaheim Pugh Jaheim Barbie Fell Victim to a Hate Crime
Jaheim Pugh Jaheim Barbie’s family believed that it was a hate crime and that he was targeted because he was wearing a rainbow romper at the party. The 19-year-old Jaheim was shot to death at the large Christmas party on December 13, 2020, near Rosedale Avenue and First Avenue. A couple of other people at the party were also injured during the shooting. As the police got involved and began investigating, they came across several persons of interest and suspects. Following the killing of Jaheim, his family demanded justice and put pressure on the authorities to find the culprit responsible for the hate crime.
A few days after the shooting, one of the persons of interest, James Lee James Jr., turned himself in for questioning on December 16. On the same day, the authorities arrested the 33-year-old suspect and charged him with one count of murder and one count of second-degree assault. The motive had not been confirmed as the accused maintained his innocence. While he claimed that he would be out of jail sooner rather than later, the prosecutors tried their best to keep him behind bars.
As per reports, at the time of the murder of Jaheim, James was out on bail after being charged with assault and other offenses earlier that same year. Meanwhile, he expressed his frustration in front of reporters, stating, “Whoever did it, you need to come and fess up to it. All you motherf*ckers talking about I did it, you know I ain’t do it. Y’all need to come down here and fess up to this man for real.”
HRC Alabama State Director Carmarion D. Anderson-Harvey had a few words to say about the entire case. She said, “Jaheim Pugh Jaheim Barbie was just at the beginning of living life. Jaheim did not deserve to have that life cut short — none of the transgender and gender non-conforming people killed this year deserved that. No one should face discrimination or violence because of who they are, what they wear, or how they look. To truly end the epidemic of violence against transgender and gender non-conforming people, we must work together to dismantle the stigma and bias that so many face. It will take all of us.”
Read More: Brittany Locklear: What Happened to Her? How Did She Die?
