A New Mexico based nonbinary transmasculine person was shot to death by neighbors in a rural unincorporated area known as Candy Kitchen in Cibola County. He was 39.
His name was Lucas RedBeard or Lucas Knapp. He also went by Luca.
On Saturday, April 18, 2026, Lucas was walking his dogs when he heard a neighbor berating a third man. Lucas stepped in to defend the third man. That’s when David Thomas Byington shot Lucas in the chest. Byington and his wife fled. One witness ran to get help, struggling to find a cell phone signal. A second witness reportedly kept watch over Lucas’ body until the Sheriff arrived an hour later.
Byington and his wife were eventually arrested. He is facing charges of second degree homicide, shooting at or from a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a felon, and tampering with evidence – all felony charges. He’s being held until a hearing. Tania Byington was originally charged with second degree murder and tampering with evidence. The murder charges were dropped and she was released on her own recognizance.
According to friends, there has been a history of bigotry by this couple. The third person they were original accosting apparently is allegedly occupying that property with permission and they didn’t like it. I understand this occupied property was not adjacent to theirs.
The mere presence of the people these murderers originally confronted was undesirable. Their presence, their existence was a problem they needed to address with a gun. I have no idea if the property owner gave them permission to be there (I was told yes), but I do know the property wasn’t owned or managed by the Byingtons. Their umbrage over someone they found undesirable making a home suggests that they valued trans folx, including Lucas, through a similar lens.
They could have just zoomed away in the ‘motor vehicle’ referenced in court documents.
When society deems people unwanted or devalued, it is not shocking that some citizens felt entitled to use a gun to enforce their vision of community.
Note that due to the violence, I have not used names for the other parties involved. They have all re[prted;u cooperated with investigators and have found safe places to stay.
Honoring Lucas
Lucas was born in New Jersey. He lived in Florida, Oregon, and Boston before settling in Candy Kitchen, New Mexico. He went to Seminole High School and studied at Emerson College. He identified as a Chef, Fermenter, Natural Farmer/Builder, and Educator. At the time of his death, he lived in West Central NM, on Zuni, Diné and Pueblos Territories. According to friends he acquired land there around 2019 after he spent time at the Zuni Mountain Sanctuary with the Radical Faeries.
He founded Misfit Kitchen Gardens. an educational, high-desert farm in West Central New Mexico with a focus on landback support, food sovereignty, and sustainable practices. According to his social media, he had worked for an array of local food oriented companies, spent time learning about native plants, was deeply involved in ecological projects, and committed to the vision. Lucas described it as collective liberation thru food.
I value when people can describe themselves. His Threads profile reads:
Lucas RedBeard here. Queer ND enby transmasc who loves farming (KNF anyone?), watershed restoration work, fermentation, cooking (and eating!) good food, music, hiking, archery, animals, foraging, building, writing and smokin bomb herb.
Post after post on social media celebrates the many facets of Lucas’ life – he left a trail of friends across the country who are united in their grief. Memorials have been organized in Boston, Portland, Florida, and more.
One friend wrote “I remember well that to be around him felt like I, and anyone else in the room, were his closest friends and family just to be together with him. Every time he visited my place felt like a little celebration, he was impish and had the most inviting, ear to ear grin when he’d greet you. The energy he radiated was stunningly unique, bright, loving, curious, not to mention devastatingly funny….. to hear this happened to someone who brought so much light to so many people is really hard to fathom.”
I found a reel of Lucas on a similar walk, he posted this in January. He left so much wisdom and advice through his social media feeds, I encourage you to check them out.
One thing that really struck me was a post from someone who had met Lucas when he responded to a request for help, showing up at Diné Bikéyah with “humility to learn.”
His family has established a fundraiser to help with final expenses.
View on Threads
Context
Lucas is the fifth trans person whose violent death has been reported in the US during 2026. I have no doubt there have been other violent deaths, they are just hidden for reasons I laid out earlier. It is on all of us to honor those who lives were taken in shadows, in silence, and under cover of anti-trans bias.
He is the first trans man, the second white person on our list.
There’s a unique response to Lucas’ murder – none of the local media outlets covering the crime have used Lucas’ name or any identity. Their focus has been on the murderers. I’ve been doing this for over 13 years and I’ve not encountered this before. Typically, outlets will say “the victim” or “the male victim” or “a local man was killed yesterday.” I’ve certainly encountered a lot of deadnaming and misgendering.
But if you read through the coverage, you’ll see almost no reference to Lucas at all. The outlets mention the suspects first on the run, then captured. No mention of the crime or the victim, not even in broad strokes.
There’s a difference between waiting to notify the family and withholding information. Lucas’ family clearly knows by this week, preliminary hearings happened – yet no media outlets have published updates. There are still few confirmed details. The court docket documents are scant. Media outlets are failing the local community, especially the trans and queer community.
One piece in the Gallup Sun focuses on reports of conflict between the victim and the suspect as if it was a level playing field or a fair fight. Lucas brought a walking stick while the Byingtons brought a gun. Lucas was taking his dogs for a walk, the Byingtons were berating someone whose choices had no direct impact on their lives. The Byingtons allegedly tampered with evidence and fled. Lucas didn’t have that option. The witnesses sought help or stayed with Lucas, making themselves available to give statements even while the Byingtons were on the loose with a gun they weren’t afraid to use.
Who exactly are the neighbors you would want?
The Gallup Sun also referred to the Byingtons by their first name. But never mentioned Lucas. That’s oddly informal.
The Chibola Citizen also did not mention Lucas or the details. That story was updated after the arraignment, but not to include details about Lucas or the crime.
KOB4 mentioned the suspect’s truck, but not the victim. KOAT7 did not mention the truck and did not mention Lucas.
All of these outlets said the Sheriff’s Department would not provide details. It has been almost two weeks, the suspects have had preliminary hearings and no details are available? No one interviewed the witnesses or friends? No journalist found the voluminous quantity of social media references to get more information?
I contacted each of these outlets and they made slight updates. I reached out to GLAAD for assistance. This is a deliberate erasure of a trans person from their own murder. It is bad enough when someone is misgendered or deadnamed, but to just not mention the victim, not even a placeholder in this reporting feels like a new form of erasure.
That’s a bad thing. Not only does it contribute to the lack of visibility of the trans community, it also presents threat to the general community. These people killed someone and fled with the gun. They took a gun to confront someone about occupying property that did not belong to them. These are not good people. They were clearly a threat to the community until they were taken into custody. Then they released the wife.
How is this a situation where the local community does not need to be informed on the basic facts?
One person I spoke with told me that the neighbors in Candy Kitchen were notoriously unwilling to speak out about concerns, incidents, or violent acts. They went on to describe incidents of anti-trans, anti-queer harassment over the years. Perhaps a culture of silence and not interfering in the business of others explains some of this, but we cannot allow the anti-trans aspect to go unchecked.
If the media doesn’t mention trans victims, soon they might not mention the crimes.
The media coverage is an appalling example of anti-trans violence that potentially renders all local trans and queer folx invisible. It is disturbing on a deep level. If you live in or near this area, please read the coverage and contact the outlets directly. Anyone can call them, any of Lucas vast community of friends and loved ones.
Other members of the trans community lost to violence in New Mexico include Nikki Turrietta in 2022 and Chilendrina Gracia Dominguez in 2021.
Rest in power, Lucas. You had a mighty impact in your too-short life. Oh how they cried they night you left them. Thank you for planting so many literal and figurative seeds that will continue to flower and bloom. Thank you for being the person who defends someone vulnerable. I am sorry we have not yet created a safer world for you to simply live.
May your memory be a revolution.
Deaths reported in 2026
These individuals are part of the trans community including transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and gender creative folx. Please do not share this content without attribution. Thank you
- Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-Mccray – Petersburg, Virginia. March 13, 2026. Age 42.
- Davonta Curtis – Chicago, Illinois. April 5, 2026. Age 32.
- Dannielle Spillman – San Francisco, California. April 16, 2026. Age 74.
- Aleanna Royal Belcher – Binghamton, New York. April 17, 2026. Age 31.
- Lucas Redbeard Knapp – Candy Kitchen, Cibola County, New Mexico, April 18, 2026. Age 39.
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