Prosecutors in Prince George’s County said a man was sentenced to almost 50 years behind bars Wednesday after he was convicted of killing a transgender woman three years ago.

The Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office said DeAllen Price, 29, was sentenced to 48 years in prison for gunning down 20-year-old Taya Ashton in July 2021.

The shooter pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and gun charges in the incident.

Prosecutors said the two were in an intimate relationship and were at Ashton’s apartment in Suitland, Maryland, when Price learned the victim wasn’t a biological woman. The killer reacted by grabbing a gun and shooting the victim, according to prosecutors.

“That was just a chilling thing to hear,” lead prosecutor Sherrie Waldrup said in a news conference after the hearing. “It’s horrifying. It’s unacceptable. It certainly is not an excuse or a justification for what happened to Taya.”

Police said they arrested Price inside a Metro tunnel near the Pentagon City station in Virginia the day after Ashton’s death. Authorities said a gun connected to the victim’s slaying was recovered in the tunnel.

• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.