Trans-Identified Male Charged with Murder in Fatal Stabbing Claims Self-Defense Against "Transphobia"
A trans-identified male charged with murder in the second degree for the fatal stabbing of a New York postal worker has claimed he killed the man while acting in self-defense. Jaia Cruz, 24, said he repeatedly stabbed 36 year-old Ray Hodge, a mail carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, after the victim insulted him with "homophobic slurs," as per Pix 11.
At about 2:30 p.m. on January 3, Hodge was waiting in line at Joe's Deli Grocery when Cruz cut in line, leading to a dispute. A witness intervened, and Cruz left briefly to retrieve a knife from his bag while Hodge's back was turned. He then began to threaten the victim with the weapon.
Prosecutors told the court that Cruz threw a plastic bottle at Hodge before lunging at him and stabbing him repeatedly all over his body. Hodge attempted to disarm Cruz, who stands at 6 feet 5 inches tall, but collapsed from the injuries he sustained. He was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A witness reported hearing Cruz say after the altercation, “He deserved it.” Cruz was arrested shortly after he fled to his apartment on West 118th Street, and told officers that he carried the knife with him for "protection" and allegedly referred to Hodge using a racial slur.
However, during court proceedings this week, Cruz's defense attorney, Mitchell Schuman, painted a drastically different picture, and argued that Hodge had been aggressive with him - while referring to the defendant with feminine pronouns.
“He started this. And then after he berates her, he removes his jacket, rolls up his sleeves and says let’s fight,” Schuman said. “He rolls up his sleeves, and then he hits my client, and every time he approaches her, she backs up.
"And he approaches her again, she backs up until she’s all the way at the refrigerator and then when he’s still berating her and calling her a faggot and a tranny, she spat at him,” Schuman said. “You can see on the video that she’s saying to him, leave me alone. But he doesn’t leave her alone. He attacks her again.”
Cruz showed no remorse for what he'd done, even after learning about Hodge's death, according to court documents. During a recorded statement with detectives just hours after the attack, Cruz said, “I hope he’s maggot food."
Cruz continued to boast, adding that he had “killed him laughing" and that he would "piss on his grave."
Though he admitted the crime directly to investigators, as per NY Daily News, Cruz quickly attempted to portray himself as a victim to prosecutors, claiming that he had been targeted due to his gender identity.
“He tried to mess with me because I’m trans and I poked him up ... My crazy has no rhyme or rhythm,” he said. “I told him, ‘If you raise your hands, I’m going to stab you in the f–king jugular. You attacking me.'”
Multiple friends and acquaintances of the victim came have since come forward to describe Hodge in a positive light, and some expressed shock at the allegations made against him by Cruz. One of Hodges’ longtime neighbors broke down in tears, and said, "He is such a polite person. He holds the door for me and everybody. It’s senseless. I mean why?"
Hodge's family created a crowd-funder campaign to raise money for the two children left without their father. The GoFundMe describes Hodge as "a hardworking, honorable and good man," who had "touched the lives of everyone he interacted with," and "whose life epitomized his values" and his willingness to help others.
“This alleged broad-daylight stabbing shook the neighborhood, including the deli workers and customers who witnessed the attack,” said District Attorney Bragg. “My thoughts are with those grieving the loss of Ray Hodge, a postal worker and beloved father of two.”
While Cruz's defense portrayed him as an innocent man who acted out in self-defense after experiencing verbal abuse, recent media reports have revealed that he has a long history of inciting violence, and had previously threatened “to cut” one of his prior victims.
In July of 2020, Cruz was seen waving a box cutter blade at another man in Midtown West while shouting, "I'm going to cut him!" At that time, he was arrested under the name Alvin Cruz.
Despite his unstable behavior, Cruz has been defended by trans activists. The New York City Anti-Violence Project, which touts itself as "the nation's largest organization supporting survivors of violence who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer," defended Cruz as "a trans woman of color" who had "regularly experienced hate violence and harassment in public."
"Tragically, in an incident at a Harlem deli on January 2, 2025, an altercation between Jaia Cruz, a 24-year-old trans woman, and Ray Hodge, a 36-year-old man, resulted in Hodge’s death," the AVP posted to social media.
"In the week since the incident, media accounts have misgendered, mocked, and dehumanized Jaia Cruz in a flagrant display of cis-supremacy, misogynoir, and transmisogyny," the organization continued. "Transgender women experience violence at a disproportionate rate to their cisgender peers. AVP supports LGBTQ+ people on their worst days. We hold this complexity as Cruz moves into the criminal legal system."
Similarly, New York-based social media influencer and trans-identified male Nekia Zulu called on his 20,000 followers to support Cruz, saying "I'm with you."
"If you do not know who Jaia Cruz is, she is an individual here in the New York community and a lovely trans woman who I've gotten to meet on multiple occasions," Zulu said. "No one walks in our shoes, and no one knows what we deal with on a day-to-day basis.
Another influencer and trans activist who goes by the name Devin-Norelle, said it was "disturbing to watch" news outlets and media "demonize a trans person" who he speculated had simply been defending himself.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Jaia was protecting herself," said Devin-Norelle, who uses ze/zim/zist pronouns. "It makes no sense that any trans woman would intentionally do something that could put her in harm's way. I don't like how people are using this as an excuse to be transphobic towards her."
Cruz is currently being held at the Rose M. Singer Center, a women's facility on Rikers Island, and has been classified as a "female inmate," according to the New York City Department of Corrections.
The facility where Cruz is detained has previously reported incidents involving violent trans-identified males attacking female inmates.
See, we, as a society, not only indulged their lies, but encouraged them, and now that's their first response.
Everyone involved in this entire farce expects to get away with murder, because they have been so far.
Trans activists from the New York City Anti-Violence Project emphasize the perpetrator's race, but don't mention the fact that the victim was a Black man...