ALIQUIPPA – Over a year after police responded to the murder of a transgender resident in the city, investigators have linked a local man to the incident and charged him with homicide.

According to state police, a warrant was issued for the arrest of 46-year-old Darese Raines of Aliquippa on Friday after an investigation linked him to the murder of Brandon Murray in 2021. Raines faces charges of criminal homicide and illegal possession of a firearm.

The investigation began after members of the Aliquippa Police Department responded to the 500 block of Linmar Terrace for reports of a deceased male on Nov. 9, 2021. When the investigation was turned over to state police, troopers discovered Murray lying naked and facedown on the floor. Troopers said Murray had multiple gunshot wounds to the head, with residents around the area confirming that they had heard shots being fired from the apartment around 10 that night.

Using video obtained from a Ring doorbell, troopers were able to identify a suspect who had circled Murray's building five times that night. At 11:08 p.m., the same person could be seen on video running from the scene of the crime. Troopers said this was the only person seen in the area's network of video surveillance during this time period.

During a search of Murray's cell phones, troopers discovered there had been frequent communication with a contact listed as "Darnez" before the incident, which they were later able to link to Raines. A DNA test was also conducted on physical evidence left at the scene, such as water bottles and cigarettes, which were processed through the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and matched positive with Raines earlier this year.

Troopers interviewed Raines after the DNA testing in May 2022, where he initially denied knowing Murray. Later in the interview, Raines told interviewers he had received rides to work from Murray two to three times a week and would go to bars with him. During questioning, Raines denied having a sexual relationship with Murray because he knew that the man was transgender.

Raines denied being at Murray's apartment during this May interview, saying he had not been to the apartment for a week before the incident. In a statement to officers, Raines said that whoever killed Murray likely committed the crime because he was going to "expose" them.

Officers confronted Raines about finding his DNA at the scene and semen found inside Murray through a sexual assault kit, which caused Raines to adjust his statements and admit he had not known that Murray identified as a man in a sexual relationship the two had earlier that year. Raines continued to deny being at the scene of the crime in November, saying the relationship had ended in September 2021.

Raines continued to deny his DNA would be at the scene in November and eventually left the Beaver County barracks, where troopers said he asked, "What other evidence is there in this investigation?"

Troopers later obtained cell phone records that linked Raines to the Linmar Terrace area at the time of the murder, where he remained until 5:44 a.m. on Nov. 10. In September, further DNA testing was also processed which matched the sample that Raines had given during his interview in May.

Raines, who was taken into custody late Friday, is being held in the Beaver County Jail without bond.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: State police make arrest for 2021 murder of Brandon Murray in Aliquippa