Police are searching for whoever stabbed a 33-year-old transgender woman found dead at a burning apartment in Van Nuys Saturday.
The woman, who went by Yazmin Payne, was stabbed in the torso, and police found the weapon she was killed with at the scene, Los Angeles Police Department officials said in a statement.
Firefighters were able to extinguish a small fire in the rear bedroom after forcing their way into the apartment in the 14600 block of Saticoy Street at about 5 a.m. Saturday, police said. They found Payne's body in the kitchen.
Police named a man in his mid-20s, about 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds, as a person of interest in the case, but didn't release his name. He was initially described as Payne's boyfriend in police reports.
They ask anyone with information about the slaying to call 818-374-0040 or 818-374-1999.
City News Service contributed to this report.
Photo Credit: Jane Yamamoto