Ten days ago a charred body was found in a burned out car in New Orleans East (The 9th Ward). That body has now been identified as Devin Diamond. The Nola Coroner's Office has classified the death as a homicide. The victim was beaten to death before the car was torched.

Although described as a male by the Coroner's Office, further investigation reveals that Devin had begun transition.

George Melichar, who knew Diamond through a French Quarter retail job, said the two had a conversation on the subject several months ago.

When I asked her if she identified as a man or a woman, she told me that she would answer to both. But being that she was transitioning, I felt that it was the best to refer to her as a woman, and she agreed.

Devin was very loved, and Devin was very kind. And that's what makes this more difficult. In addition to losing a friend, we lost an LGBT leader.

--Melichar

Natives of New Orleans Diamond and her mother moved back to Nola about a year ago after a decade in Georgia following Katrina.

But for a grieving mother and the New Orleans Police Department, it remains a mystery exactly how 20-year-old Devin Diamond, who worked at the Wal-Mart in New Orleans East, wound up dead.

Devin's Facebook page says she also worked at Family Dollar.

We had only been in the city a year, so I can’t imagine who would want to harm him. Now, I’m just trying to plan a service, to celebrate who he was as a person.

--Antoinette Diamond

My baby was kind and loving, and he had a big heart.

--Ms. Diamond

Devin had moved into an apartment on June 2 and had apparently borrowed a roommate's car on June 4 to go to a party. A woman who lived near where the body was found told police she heard a loud boom about 4:15am. When she looked out the window, she saw a Toyota Camry engulfed in flames. Ashe called 911. Firefighters arrived soon thereafter. The body was found after the blaze was squelched. The fire has been classified as arson.

A source who described surveillance video taken nearby said the footage captured a partial view of the incident, with the Camry arriving on Flite Court just before 3 a.m. The source said a man is seen leaving the area and returning twice, the second time with a container full of gasoline or another accelerant. Minutes later, Flite Court is engulfed in smoke.

Tyler Gamble, a Police Department spokesman, described the investigation as ongoing and declined to release details.

He may be the victim of either a homicide or a hate crime. I cannot say for sure.

There are a lot of people that don’t like gay males.

--Antoinette Diamond, who knew Devin as a gay man

Pictures on Devin Diamond’s Facebook page, which also lists Diamond as gay, appear to show Diamond presenting as a woman.

Certain aspects of his life, we didn’t talk about.. Devin was who he was, and I didn’t love him any less because of it.

--Antoinette

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise funds for Devin's burial.