CEDAR PARK, Texas — For nine years, Akira Ross was involved in an on-again, off-again relationship with her girlfriend, Tanya Gasaway.
Just before 10 p.m. on June 2, Ross drove into a Circle K gas station parking lot in Cedar Park with Gasaway and another friend in the car. According to court documents, Ross and Gasaway were arguing, which a friend of theirs believes caught the attention of 23-year-old Bradley Stanford in the parking lot.
Gasaway went into the station, and that is when Stanford and Ross got into a verbal confrontation. According to an affidavit, the friend in the car told police that Stanford yelled a homophobic slur at Ross and fired three shots.
Ross died in the parking lot.
"It's a tragedy, a real tragedy," said Anthony Hill, Ross' father.
Two days later, police found Stanford in Ingleside, Texas, near Corpus Christi, and arrested him. He is now in the Williamson County Jail, charged with murder.
Hill believes this was a crime fueled by hate.
"This was a hate crime because he was laying out slurs at her. She didn't want any trouble," Hill said. "I just want people to stop hating on people for whatever they decide to do in life. You know, because at the end of the day, we are the same. No one is better than the next. No one is worse than the next."
KVUE also spoke to Gasaway's mother, who chose to remain anonymous.
"They have the right to walk around the world just like us. They're not bothering nobody. They just choose to live a different life than what we choose but doesn't give them the right to take nobody's life," Gasaway's mother said.
Hill said he's left wondering where his daughter's life would have gone.
"I just wish it would have been a different and a different place that she could have got to live a little longer so we could see that beautiful flower just blossom," Hill said.
KVUE asked Cedar Park police if Ross' murder is being investigated as a possible hate crime, but the department could only confirm that an investigation is ongoing.