Prosecutor says gender-fluid Iowa teen was kidnapped, killed

KEOKUK, Iowa (AP) - A prosecutor says a gender-fluid Iowa teenager was kidnapped, suffocated and executed by two cousins who believed the teen was a cute girl.

Prosecutor Christopher Perras detailed the 2016 death of 16-year-old Kedarie Johnson in opening statements Thursday at the trial of Jorge Sanders-Galvez.

Perras said Johnson "was a friendly high school student with a bright future" who sometimes dressed as a girl. Relatives say Johnson identified as both male and female.

Perras says Johnson was wearing a pink headband and hair extensions when Sanders-Galvez and his cousin saw the teen at a store.

Perras says the men followed Johnson in their car, then took the teen to a Burlington home. He says a struggle ensued during a sexual encounter, and the men suffocated Johnson, shot the teen and dumped the body in an alley.