This guilty verdict is historic as there hasn’t been a federal hate crime trial about someone’s gender identity, according to CNN. The jury of the four-day trial found him responsible for three charges: one hate crime count, one federal firearms count, and one obstruction count. He wasn’t the only suspect in custody as Xavier Pinckney, 24, was charged with two obstruction crimes, one for providing false narratives and purposefully misleading investigators who were actively working to solve Dime Doe’s case, CBS News reported.

“This case is historic; this defendant is the first to be found guilty by trial verdict for a hate crime motivated by gender identity under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general with the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a Feb. 25 statement via the U.S. Department of Justice per CNN.

According to the DOJ’s statement, Ritter was mad and annoyed that people in his neighborhood started to question his sexuality because he was dating Dime Doe. On Aug. 4, 2019, he asked the victim to meet him in Allendale, SC, a secluded area outside the city. After she arrived, he shot her three times in the head and then burned the clothes he was wearing at the time and disposed of the gun.

The South Carolina man hasn’t been sentenced as that hearing hasn’t been scheduled yet, but there’s a possibility he may spend the rest of his life behind bars. Clarke shared her sentiments about the impact this case will have going forward for the trans community.

“A unanimous jury has found the defendant guilty for the heinous and tragic murder of Dime Doe, a Black transgender woman,” Clarke said. “The jury’s verdict sends a clear message: Black trans lives matter, bias-motivated violence will not be tolerated, and perpetrators of hate crimes will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

She added, “We want the Black trans community to know that you are seen and heard, that we stand with the LGBTQI+ community, and that we will use every tool available to seek justice for victims and their families.”