Remembering Our Dead

Shelby Tracey Tom

Shelby's body was found in an alley. Jatin Patel had cut her throat after he found out she was transgender during oral sex.

Patel was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 9 years in prison, but was released after serving only 4.

Police believe a man convicted of killing a [trans sex worker] may be on the loose in the Downtown Eastside.

After 35-year-old Jatin Patel failed to report to his halfway house on Sept. 10, a Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued. Patel-a.k.a. "Little J" was convicted of manslaughter for the 2003 slaying of a 40-year-old [trans sex worker] in North Vancouver.

Patel's parole conditions state he is not allowed to be in or near locations where [sex workers] work. According to court documents, Patel told police he "freaked out" while he was with the [sex worker], and killed her.

Patel arrived in Canada on May 27, 2003, after he'd served a 60 month jail term in the U.S. He checked into a North Van couver hotel and cabbed to Vancouver, where he picked up sex trade worker Shelby Tracey Tom, and returned to his hotel for sex.

When Patel determined Tom was transsexual he assaulted and killed her. He placed her naked body in the hotel room closet and covered her with linen.

With the body still in the room, Patel went out to the motel lobby and struck up a conversation with another woman named Kara Martin, paid her $100 to buy some cocaine, returned to the room with her and had sex. According to court documents, Patel admitted the crime to Martin.

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-murder-of-transgender-perso/77564148/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-jatin-patel-pleaded-guilty/143627054/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-murder-of-transgender-perso/143627360/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-murder-of-transgender/143627429/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-herald-tribune-murder-of-trans/143627520/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-murder-of-transgender-woman/143627672/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-province-murder-of-transgender-woman/143627788/

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-vancouver-sun-murder-of-transgender/143627897/

https://xtramagazine.com/power/trans-prostitute-killed-43813

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Shelby_Tracy_Tom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-xxOpfbkq4

Report added: 10 Dec 2018. Last updated: 7 Mar 2026

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