o! Just Me

As usual, I was browsing over my RSS Feeds and I chance upon this story. Mia Sagote, 30, and Leslie Siliga, 29, are believed to have selected the victim, Leslie “Jill” May, 49, after May told police on the day of her death that she had been robbed by Sagote on the street in the Tenderloin the day before. “The victim was kidnapped off the street and taken to Candlestick Park, doused with gasoline and set on fire,” said Assistant District Attorney George Butterworth. He said the crime was especially heinous and showed exceptional depravity.

Authorities say May was first accosted in the Tenderloin the morning of Jan. 11 by Sagote, who was angry that May’s boyfriend owed her $150 on a loan. When May said she had no money, Sagote allegedly slammed May to a wall, then threw her to the ground and punched her face, police said. Later that morning, Sagote pulled May behind a trash container and stripped the victim of her clothing and cash, leaving her naked behind a garbage bin, authorities say. The incident was witnessed, according to police.

May went to authorities the next day and reported the crime. Authorities believe that at least one of the women involved had learned, apparently by word on the street, of May’s police report naming Sagote. That afternoon, May was back in the Tenderloin when she was approached by two women, forced into the backseat of a car, and driven to the stadium parking lot at Candlestick Point and set on fire, authorities said.

May had been a longtime homeless woman and crack addict who stayed in the Tenderloin. She was one of the hardcore homeless who had been identified for outreach help under Mayor Gavin Newsom’s effort to move the chronically homeless off the street and into housing and social service programs.

After a miscarriage, she became a prostitute and came to the Bay Area in 1976. She and Ricky Smith — a onetime pimp known as “Slick Rick” who had 24 prostitutes working for him — shared a life on and off the streets. They had three children together. Back then, May was a stunner dubbed “Legs” who attracted business from men of all professions and income levels, according to people who knew her.

May once said, “Just one day before I die, I’m going to see the Statue of Liberty. I’m going to get on a Greyhound bus, see the country. Go to school, get a job. I want to do normal things.” Last fall, with the assistance of the city, the couple finally got permanent housing, but May still spent her days out on Jones Street using drugs. The city outreach team leader said May was singled out for efforts on a regular basis. Friends recently held a memorial for May, remembering her as someone who cared about her fellow downtrodden of the Tenderloin.