Investigators still trying to find transgender woman's killer
TRISTAN HALLMAN, October 20, 2013, 10:52 PM

Before Artegus Madden went on dates with people she met online, she'd make sure she told someone — just in case something happened to her.

During Labor Day weekend, something did. Madden, a transgender woman, was found dead Sept. 1 in the living room of her Denton County home. She had been hit in the face and shot in the neck.

Nearly two months later, investigators have no suspects or strong leads. Some of her belongings — investigators won't say precisely what — were missing, but there were no signs of forced entry. And the bullet that killed Madden has not been found.

"The problem with this case is that there are so many unknowns," Denton County Sheriff's Sgt. Larry Kish said. "We're just going back and redoing everything to make sure we didn't miss anything."

Friends and family say the 34-year-old — who they called both a "he" and a "she" — had long struggled with her identity in a life filled with contradictions. And in the years since her mother died, her behavior became increasingly risky, they said. Some of her friends believe that her risk-taking might have played a role in her death.