Michelle Lynne Kosilek (born April 10, 1949) is a convicted murderer who is better known for the controversy surrounding her attempts to obtain vaginoplasty for her gender dysphoria while in prison. In 1990, Kosilek strangled wife Cheryl McCaul, killing her. Kosilek was sentenced to serve a life sentence without parole. During her incarceration, Kosilek has repeatedly sued the Massachusetts Department of Correction (MDOC), seeking medical treatment for her gender dysphoria. Transgender status and alleged abuse From 1967 to 1968, starting when Kosilek was about 18 years old, a doctor allegedly exploited Kosilek's difficulty in obtaining medical treatment for her gender dysphoria. The doctor allegedly prescribed hormone therapy for Kosilek in exchange for sex with his patient. Kosilek later said that, while she was on hormone therapy, she "felt normal" for the first time in her life. Kosilek also took hormones for several months in 1971 and 1972 (when she was about 22–23 years old). Relationship with Cheryl McCaul After relapsing into drug abuse, Kosilek entered a drug rehabilitation facility for addiction treatment. There, Kosilek met Cheryl McCaul, who was working there as a volunteer counselor. McCaul believed that if she were to marry Kosilek, that Kosilek would identify as a man; Kosilek recalled McCaul saying that all Kosilek needed was "a good woman". They were married, but Kosilek's female gender identity did not change. Murder of Cheryl McCaul Kosilek murdered McCaul in May, 1990. In October 1992, about two and a half years after the murder, Kosilek gave a series of recorded interviews to a reporter. In one of these recordings, Kosilek stated that, on the day of the murder, McCaul had returned home to the couple's condominium in Mansfield, Massachusetts, and discovered Kosilek wearing McCaul's clothing. The female clothing of Kosilek stirred McCaul with transphobic rage, and an altercation ensued. McCaul threw boiling tea at Kosilek, either at her face or her genitals, and Kosilek knocked McCaul down. McCaul grabbed a butcher's knife and chased Kosilek into another room, threatening to kill her. Kosilek picked up a piece of wire that had been on a table. Kosilek reported that the next thing she remembered was awakening, days later, in the psychiatric unit of a hospital. In the interview, Kosilek stated that she "probably, because of the trauma of it ... went into a blackout at that moment." She added, "Apparently, I did take her life. It was probably in