Suspect In Meghan Lewis Death Indicted On New Charge: Report

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — The man suspected of killing a Harford County transgender woman two days after Christmas was indicted on additional charges Friday, according to a Baltimore Banner report.

Brian Delen, 47, now faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with the 53-year-old woman's death, the Banner reported. Delen previously was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree assault and firearms charges after police said he killed Lewis following an argument.

Delen was also ordered held without bond Friday, the Banner reported.

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Patch previously reported that Delen, of Bel Air, had been released on his own recognizance after a Dec. 29 hearing, according to online court records.

According to authorities, Delen was delivering food to the English Country Manor neighborhood along Churchill Road around 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 27 when he argued with Lewis, Patch reported previously.

Delen saw Lewis walking toward his vehicle and said something like, "Are you waiting for a food delivery, sir," according to the charging documents. Delen said Lewis was offended by his remarks, CBS News reported, believing that he had misgendered her and began yelling at him.

As Delen drove away, Lewis followed on foot, police said. Delen stopped his vehicle and approached Lewis again, according to court documents, and the argument turned physical. At that point, Delen pulled out a handgun and shot Lewis in the stomach, officials said.

Bel Air police found Lewis in the parking lot and took her to the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Activists and members of the LGBTQ+ community protested the court's earlier decision to release Delen and called for him to face hate crime charges.

"This individual took a life," Renee Lau with Maryland Safe Haven told WJZ. "He took the life of someone who cared and someone who would treat him the same way that she would treat her own children. This needs to be investigated further. It is unconscionable that a person with a second-degree murder charge should be at liberty, and Meghan can't speak for herself."

Members of the local LGBTQ community have described Lewis as "uplifting" and a committed supporter of transgender people in Maryland.

"She was an incredibly bright light and huge asset to the transgender community. She was one of the most decent kind people I've ever known in my entire life," Tina Castle, a friend of Lewis, told WMAR.

"That's just who she was as a person, she was always interested in uplifting our fellow community members," added Lee Blinder, the executive director of Trans Maryland, a group that supports the trans community across the state. "She had even, just over the holiday, recently made a post in one of the community groups offering for folks to join her at her home for a holiday dinner, and that's just who Meghan was."