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Outspoken transgender activist, Dana Rivers, charged with arson and stabbing, shooting death of lesbian couple and their teenage son in Oakland, Calif.

&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpcnt">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"wpa">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<span class&equals;"wpa-about">Advertisements<&sol;span>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<div class&equals;"u top&lowbar;amp">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<amp-ad width&equals;"300" height&equals;"265"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; type&equals;"pubmine"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-siteid&equals;"109460728"&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab; data-section&equals;"1">&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;amp-ad>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div>&NewLine;&Tab;&Tab;<&sol;div><div id&equals;"content">&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"articleWide cleared">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"alpha">&NewLine;<div id&equals;"js-article-text" class&equals;"imageCaption">&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;360303&semi;">Long time transgender activist&comma; Dana Rivers&comma; charged with multiplecounts of  homicide and arson<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;360303&semi;">61-year-old Rivers is accused of stabbing and shooting to death lesbian couple and their teenage son before setting their home on fire<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;360303&semi;">Patricia Wright&comma; 57&comma; her wife Charlotte Reed&comma; 56&comma; were found shot and stabbed to death inside their Oakland&comma; Calif&period;&comma; their 19-year-old son&comma; Toto &&num;8216&semi;Benny&&num;8217&semi; Diambu-Wright&comma; was found bleeding from a stab wound outside the home&comma; on Thursday<&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;360303&semi;"><strong>Cops responding to reports of gunfire at the home on November 11 caught <&sol;strong><strong>Rivers covered in blood fleeing the house on Reed&&num;8217&semi;s motorcycle <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;360303&semi;"><strong>The high school teacher<&sol;strong><strong> reportedly made &&num;8216&semi;spontaneous statements about her involvement in the murders&&num;8217&semi; during arrest and was found with ammunition and knives<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;360303&semi;"><strong>The crime allegedly&comma; was motivated by a dispute over property between Rivers and the victims<br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"alpha">&NewLine;<div id&equals;"js-article-text" class&equals;"article-text wide">&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;360303&semi;"><strong>Rivers&comma; reputed to be a member of the San Jose based Deviants Motorcycle Club&comma; was charged with three counts of murder&comma; arson and possession of brass knuckles&comma; Tuesday <&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<h6><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;2e0404&semi;"><strong><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;360303&semi;">Could face life in prison without parole&comma; or capital punishment for &&num;8216&semi;special circumstance murders&&num;8217&semi;<&sol;span><br &sol;>&NewLine;<&sol;strong><&sol;span><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p><span style&equals;"color&colon;&num;2e0404&semi;"> <img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-103402" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2016&sol;11&sol;dana-rivers5&period;jpg" alt&equals;"dana-rivers5" width&equals;"750" height&equals;"923" &sol;><&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">A distinguished California based early advocate for LGBT rights was arrested Tuesday in connection with a triple homicide that wiped out a family of three last week&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Sacramento journalism teacher Dana Rivers&comma; 61&comma; has been charged with three counts of murder&comma; arson and possession of brass knuckles after police say she shot and stabbed to death a fellow teacher&comma; her wife and the couple’s 19-year-old son before setting their Oakland home on fire&comma; last week&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Born David Warfield&comma; Rivers famously made headlines in 1999 because she was fired from a teaching job at a Sacramento high school after she told her boss she would be transitioning to a woman&period; The Navy veteran went ahead with her gender reassignment that same year&comma; sued the school district and won&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"imageCaption"><img class&equals;" size-full wp-image-103404 alignleft" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2016&sol;11&sol;dana-rivers2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"dana-rivers2" width&equals;"216" height&equals;"201" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><span class&equals;"mol-style-bold">Police responding to a call of  <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;latimes&period;com&sol;local&sol;lanow&sol;la-me-ln-triple-homicide-home-fire-oakland-20161111-story&period;html">hearing multiple gunshots<&sol;a> and saw Diambu shot and bleeding&comma; lying in the street&period; While helping Diambu&comma; officers heard a loud banging coming from the garage&comma; moments later&comma; Rivers walked out of the home&comma; police said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She was covered in blood&comma; so officers quickly detained her&period; As officers searched her&comma; they found ammunition and knives in her pocket&comma; Jimenez said&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;As they detained Rivers&comma; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;she began to make spontaneous statements about her involvement in the murders&comma;” Jimenez wrote&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Officers searching the home&comma; found Wright and Reed dead inside&period; A fire was also burning in the garage&period; Rivers was taken into custody and booked at an Alameda County jail&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Records show Wright&comma; a part-time teacher in Oakland&comma; and Reed were married for more than a year&comma; Diambu was Wright’s son&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-103406" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2016&sol;11&sol;dana-rivers3&period;jpg" alt&equals;"dana-rivers3" width&equals;"640" height&equals;"486" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img-group artSplitter">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"splitLeft">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<h6><strong>Dana Rivers &lpar;pictured in mugshot&rpar;&comma; a 61-year-old teacher and transgender activist&comma; has been charged with three counts of murder and arson<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"overlay-icon mobile-gallery">&NewLine;<div id&equals;"attachment&lowbar;103409" style&equals;"width&colon; 316px" class&equals;"wp-caption alignright"><img aria-describedby&equals;"caption-attachment-103409" class&equals;" size-full wp-image-103409 alignright" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2016&sol;11&sol;diambu-wright1&period;jpg" alt&equals;"diambu-wright1" width&equals;"306" height&equals;"416" &sol;><p id&equals;"caption-attachment-103409" class&equals;"wp-caption-text">Toto Diambu-wright&period; Shot along with his parents<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"imageCaption">Police found Toto Diambu-Wright&comma; 19 &lpar;right&rpar;&comma; bleeding from a stab wound outside his Oakland&comma; California home&period; His parents &lpar;left and right&rpar; were found dead inside<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Police investigating the triple homicide in Oakland that claimed the lives of Patricia Wright&comma; 57&comma; her wife Charlotte Reed&comma; 56&comma; and their 19-year-old son&comma; Toto &&num;8216&semi;Benny&&num;8217&semi; Diambu-Wright&comma; on Thursday suggested that the motive behind the slaughter might have been a dispute over property&comma; but they declined to elaborate&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Dressed in a red prison jumpsuit&comma; Rivers briefly appeared in court Thursday but delayed entering a plea to the charges against her for three weeks&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Rivers has been jailed without bail since last Friday&period; Her next court appearance is scheduled for December 8&period;Those who know Dana Rivers were left scratching their heads upon learning of her arrest and the gruesome circumstances surrounding the killings&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;&OpenCurlyQuote;This is utterly unfathomable&period; I am in utter shock&comma;’ one unnamed relative  said&comma; Thursday&period; &OpenCurlyQuote;This is a woman who has devoted her life to helping others&period; Nothing about this lines up&period;’<br &sol;>&NewLine;The family member who chose to remain anonymous said she last saw Rivers about a year ago&comma; she seemed &&num;8216&semi;happy and healthy&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;She had joined a women&&num;8217&semi;s biker group in San Jose called the Deviants Motorcycle Club and reportedly told her relative she has found a community among other female riders&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"mol-para-with-font"><img class&equals;"alignnone size-full wp-image-103407" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2016&sol;11&sol;charlotte-reed-left-patricia-wright-right-and-toto-benny-diambu-wright-center&period;jpg" alt&equals;"charlotte-reed-left-patricia-wright-right-and-toto-benny-diambu-wright-center" width&equals;"630" height&equals;"465" &sol;><br &sol;>&NewLine;<strong>Cops say Dana Rivers shot and stabbed and shot fellow teacher&comma; Charlotte Reed &lpar;right&rpar;&comma; her wife Patricia  Wright and the couple’s 19-year-old son&comma; Toto Diambu-Wright&comma; before setting their Oakland home on fire&comma; last week&period;<&sol;strong><&sol;h6>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Police responded to reports of gunfire after midnight on November 11 and found Diambu-Wright&comma; who went by the name &&num;8216&semi;Benny&comma;&&num;8217&semi; bleeding from a stab wound&comma; according to probable cause statements cited by <a class&equals;"" href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;nbcbayarea&period;com&sol;news&sol;local&sol;San-Jose-Woman-Charged-in-Oakland-Triple-Homicide-401371505&period;html" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow">NBC<&sol;a>&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Benny&&num;8217&semi;s mothers&comma; who adopted him from West Africa&comma; were found shot and stabbed inside their home&period; All three victims were pronounced dead at the scene&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Police heard a &&num;8216&semi;loud bang&&num;8217&semi; from the garage and said Rivers emerged from the home on the 9400 block of Dunbar Drive covered in blood&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Rivers was about to ride off on Reed&&num;8217&semi;s motorcycle&comma; but was arrested and found with ammunition and knives in her pockets&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The 61-year-old also made &&num;8216&semi;spontaneous statements about her involvement in the murders&&num;8217&semi; during her arrest&comma; according to police&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Rivers&comma; who was accused of setting the house on fire to destroy any evidence&comma; has also been charged with arson and possession of brass knuckles&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;If convicted&comma; she could face life in prison without parole&comma; or capital punishment&comma; for the &&num;8216&semi;special circumstance murders&&num;8217&semi; the East Bay Times reported&period;<img class&equals;" size-full wp-image-103408 alignleft" src&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;konniemoments&period;com&sol;wp-content&sol;uploads&sol;2016&sol;11&sol;charlotte-reed-and-patricia-wright2&period;jpg" alt&equals;"charlotte-reed-and-patricia-wright2" width&equals;"306" height&equals;"416" &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<div class&equals;"artSplitter mol-img-group">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"splitLeft">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"mol-img">&NewLine;<div class&equals;"image-wrap fff-pic">&NewLine;<h6 class&equals;"imageCaption">Patricia Wright&comma; &lpar;left&rpar; and her wife Charlotte Reed&comma; &lpar;front seat&rpar;&comma; seen on their wedding day a year ago&comma; had been shot and stabbed&period;<&sol;h6>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"imageCaption">Rivers gained national attention when she had a sex-change operation to become a woman nearly 20 years ago&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;David Warfield was a suburban Sacramento journalism teacher when he began hormone treatments and surgeries in 1999&period; When he told The school district about her plans&comma; they placed her on administrative leave and eventually fired her&period; She sued and reached a settlement&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Diambu was an aspiring nurse who was attending college in Oakland and working at Walmart&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Reed was a veteran of the U&period;S&period; Air Force and owned a hair salon in San Jose&period; Her wife Wright&comma; worked part-time at an elementary school in Oakland as a computer prep teacher&comma; a school district spokesman said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<p class&equals;"mol-para-with-font">Wright&comma; who was a semi-retired teacher at Esperanza Elementary School&comma; had been married to Reed&comma; a US Air Force veteran and businesswoman&comma; for more than a year&period; They had a total of three children between them&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;Wright&&num;8217&semi;s other son Khari Campbell-Wright said Rivers was an acquaintance&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;The married couple are pictured on Facebook riding a motorcycle after their wedding&comma; and Rivers is said to have tried to escape the scene on Reed&&num;8217&semi;s motorcycle&period;<br &sol;>&NewLine;But it remains unclear what Rivers&&num;8217&semi; connection was to the family&comma; and Campbell-Wright suggested it was a random act of violence&comma; telling the East Bay Times&colon; &&num;8216&semi;My mom had no part of it&period; My brother had no part of it&period; Wrong place&comma; wrong time&period;&&num;8217&semi;<br &sol;>&NewLine;More than 100 people gathered at the Berkeley High School Academy of Medicine and Public Service to hold a vigil for Benny&comma; who graduated this past spring&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;<&sol;div>&NewLine;

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