Man pleads guilty to brutal ‘transphobic’ student murder
A man has admitted stabbing a student to death in what police are treating as a transphobic hate crime.
University of Salford student William Lound was discovered with multiple stab injuries at his flat in Bramall Court halls of residence in February.
Lee Arnold pleaded guilty to his murder at Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court.
He appeared via video link from Ashworth Hospital and remanded in custody.
He will be sentenced next month.
Greater Manchester Police said that although there was no clear motive for the murder, they were treating the incident as a transphobic hate crime because Mr Lound used to “dress up in women’s clothes.”
In the wake of his murder, Mr Lound’s family said he was “so well liked and respected by so many” because of his “very interesting character and great sense of humour”.
“William had just embarked on a very promising future, which would have enabled him finally to reach his potential,” they said.
“He would have been a great asset in the IT world had he not been taken from us so early.”
Salford University’s Vice Chancellor Professor Helen Marshall added: “This has come as a huge shock to us all, and our thoughts are with family and friends of the victim at this difficult time.”
In a double tragedy for the victim’s family, Mr Lound’s sister took her own life just three months after her brother’s death.
Gini – a business owner – delivered a moving eulogy to a packed congregation during Mr Lound’s funeral, at which she was pallbearer.
Her mother, Mo – who lost both of her children in less than four months – described her daughter as a “bright, kind and incredibly hard working young woman.”