Murdered taxi driver's sisters hit out at smirking trans killer who 'refused to apologize' after he was sentenced to 22 years as it emerges had been released from jail just days before he killed

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The family of a murdered taxi driver called his transgender killer - who smirked at her victim's relatives and refused to apologize - has blasted the convict as a 'monster' after she was sentenced to two decades behind bars. 

'We tell our kids so many times that monsters aren’t under the bed or in the closet, but it’s all a lie... Moses Lopez is a monster and will always be one,' Claire Pearce said at a sentencing hearing over the killing of her brother Reese McDowell Lawhon. 

Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, brutally stabbed cab driver Lawhon to death in his car in April 2023 with bladed brass knuckles after suffering a mental health episode while on a night out partying in Portland.

The sister's remark led Lopez to smirk at the relative, which prompted one of her own defense attorneys to frown and shake her head, reports Oregon Live. 

Lopez was initially charged with murdering Lawhon, but later accepted a plea deal that will see her serve only 22 years in prison for manslaughter.

Moses Jacob Lopez, 30, who brutally stabbed cab driver Reese McDowell Lawhon to death in his car in April 2023, smirked at her victims family during sentencing 

Lopez was sentenced to 22 years behind bars for killing Lawhon who was known as a talented musician and artist, and had previously toured with the Smashing Pumpkins during his music career with band Aan 

McDowell's sister Claire Pearce said 'Moses Lopez is a monster and will always be one' which prompted the killer's smirk 

Lopez callously justified the murder by blaming a lack of mental health support and a system she saw as failing her.

'I refuse to apologize for the lack of help I so desperately needed and called and asked for from 911 services,' Lopez said, reports The Oregonian.  

She also moaned that her gender identity meant that she felt 'targeted,' and vulnerable to attack, the paper reported. 

Just days before the killing, Lopez had been arrested for threatening two employees at a supermarket, and was charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing and weapons charges.

She failed to turn up to court on those charges, but the case was dismissed as part of a plea deal over Lawhon's killing that reduced her murder charges to manslaughter. 

The plea deal was accepted by Lawhon's sisters as they said they didn't want to put their parents through more grief, but slated the deal even being proposed and felt justice was not done. 

'When Moses gets out in 20 years - assuming she's still alive which trust me I hope she's not - I look forward to testifying against her for whatever senseless crime she commits next, because she will,' Pearce told KATU.

His older sister, Natalie Boenker, added: 'I am haunted daily by what Reese must have felt in those last 45 seconds. I wonder, was he scared? Did he think of us? Was he in pure shock? And was he in pain?'

Just days before the killing, Lopez had been arrested for threatening two employees at a supermarket, and was charged with disorderly conduct, trespassing and weapons charges

Lopez went on to kill Lawhon who was found dead at the scene after his cab was found stopped in traffic at around 7pm on April 9, 2023, in an unprovoked attack 

On the night of Lawhon's killing, Lopez had been out partying in downtown Portland, but suffered a mental health breakdown and called 911 for a ride home.

The 911 operator instead suggested she call a cab and pay for a ride home.

After calling Radio Cab, static on the taxi dispatcher's line led them to enter the wrong address.

'I ended up in a very scary part of town where I was genuinely afraid,' Lopez said at her sentencing, claiming her gender identity leaves her often feeling targeted. 

Surveillance footage from inside the cab showed the trip was almost entirely silent, until Lawhon realized the mistake and tried to turn around under a highway overpass.

At that moment, Lopez lunged forward and stabbed Lawhon in the neck 'completely out of the blue', detectives said. 

Police were called to the scene shortly before 7pm after motorists reported the cab stopped in the middle of traffic, and officers found the driver slumped over his steering wheel.

He had been stabbed in the neck and was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Lopez was quickly apprehended by cops in the nearby area, and paramedics said she was seen exiting the cab covered in blood, and dropped a pair of brass knuckles with an attached blade to the ground.

After her arrest, Lopez said she was having a mental health crisis and that was the reason for calling 911 for help - a narrative she stuck to at her sentencing as she refused to apologize. 

However, those who knew Lawhon said he was a 'kind soul', and would have certainly helped her if she had told him she was struggling.

Lopez callously justified the murder by blaming a lack of mental health support and a system she saw as failing her. 'I refuse to apologize for the lack of help I so desperately needed and called and asked for from 911 services,' Lopez said

Lawhon's loved ones said he certainly would have helped Lopez if she told him she was struggling, as he was described as 'an exceptional person with time for everyone'

Lawhon's former colleague Darin Campbell told KPTV : 'She never once said a single word in that cab ride. If she would’ve said to Reese, "I need help" he would have helped her'

His former colleague Darin Campbell told KPTV: 'She never once said a single word in that cab ride. If she would’ve said to Reese, "I need help" he would have helped her.

'Her assistance would’ve been right there in the front seat of that car. It could’ve been very different.'

'The excuses that were made in the courtroom today for (Lopez’s) actions are disgraceful,' Campbell added.

'Our opinion is she is a homicidal mentally ill individual who should never be set free ever again. The Radio Cab management team that unfortunately had to see the video of the murder of Reese Lawhon are traumatized, I being one of them.'

Campbell also condemned the plea deal, saying he believed 'the defense team took advantage of Reese’s family being at a higher age and having to travel a long distance, that they were able to get this plea.'

Tributes have poured in for Lawhon following his death, with those that knew him describing him as a kindhearted and friendly person.

He was adopted, and had reportedly just located his biological parents and was planning to meet them before he was killed.

Lawhon was known to enjoy art and music, and his obituary states that while he was at school, he was described by his art teacher as a 'Mozart in the visual arts.'

'A gifted musician, he played the guitar and a set of homemade drums while in high school,' the obituary continued, as he went on to join indie rock band Aan as a bassist and singer.

His music career also included touring with the Smashing Pumpkins, the obituary said.

Tributes poured in for Lawhon following his untimely death, with a close friend saying that if you knew him 'you loved him' and he didn't have 'an enemy anywhere in the world' 

Lawhon was adopted, and had reportedly just located his biological parents and was planning to meet them before he was killed

'Reese was an exceptional person with time for everyone,' the obituary concluded. 

'He exuded a calm confidence and often gifted his friends with timely and comedic quips. He was a keen observer of humanity and a welcome presence in any group. He was a great hugger. He respected people from all walks of life. 

'Reese never lost a friend; he just kept adding them and they never left.' 

After his death, the Gladney Center for Adoption created the Reese McDowell Lawhon Scholarship Fund in his name, to help adoptive families. 

His band paid a touching tribute on Facebook, saying that if you knew Lawhon, 'you loved him.'

'I don’t think he had an enemy anywhere in the world... The void of losing him will last my entire lifetime. Best man in my wedding. First person I called when my dad passed. Always available, comforting, and rational. It’s just too much and not real yet. Infinite love for this beautiful soul.'