27 Murders For the 2017 TDOR: A Near Record
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Currently, there have been 27 transgender people murdered in the United States since the 2016 Transgender Day of Remembrance. As tragic as that number is it wasn’t for a lack of trying by the haters. But it looks like Detroit trans woman Chocolate will survive the attack on her life which occurred Friday, albeit with serious physical hurdles to overcome.
The Transgender Day of Remembrance was founded in 1999 by Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a transgender woman, to memorialize the murder of transgender woman Rita Hester in Allston, Massachusetts. Since its inception, TDoR has been held annually on November 20 since then.
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- India Monroe, a 29-year-old black trans woman, was found shot to death on 21 December, along with Mark Gray, 37, in a home in Newport News, Virginia. Local news reports at first identified Monroe as male. She was buried under her birth name, with her hair cut short and other facets of her appearance altered to make her look male. Newport News police have ruled Monroe’s death a homicide but are investigating it as a domestic incident, not a hate crime.Source
- Sean Ryan Hake, a 23-year-old transgender man was shot three times by police and killed in Sharon, Pennsylvania on January 6. The police were responding to a domestic call for which Hake had threatened their mother and cut his own throat. Hake’s family has filed a lawsuit alleging the police violated Hake’s civil rights. Source
- Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, a 28-year-old Native American trans woman was found murdered in her apartment in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on 7 January, however, she is believed to have died at least several days prior.Source
- Mesha Caldwell, a 41-year-old black trans woman, was found shot to death on a road near Canton, Mississippi on 4 January.Source
- Jojo Striker, a 23-year-old trans woman of color, was found shot to death in a garage in Toledo, Ohio, on 8 February. She suffered one gunshot wound to her chest.Source
- Jaquarrius Holland, an 18-year-old black trans woman, was shot during a verbal altercation in Monroe, Louisiana on 19 February.Source
- Tiara Lashaytheboss Richmond, a 24-year-old black trans woman who was also known as Keke Collier, was shot on Chicago’s south side on 23 February, by an unknown assailant while sharing a vehicle with them. She was found by police on the ground outside, and rushed to the hospital, where she died around 7:00 AM.Source
- Chyna Doll Dupree, a black trans woman, also known as Chyna Gibson, was shot in New Orleans on 25 February, by an unknown assailant. She was found by police at 8:30 pm lying in a parking lot outside a shopping mall. She had been shot several times, and died at the scene. Her aunt described her as “a very loving person [who] didn’t do nothing to nobody”.Source
- Ciara McElveen, a 26-year-old black trans woman, was stabbed in New Orleans, LA, and left on the side of the road. She was transported to University Medical Center where she died on 27 February.Source
- Alphonza Watson, a 38-year-old black trans woman, was shot in the stomach on 22 March in Baltimore, Maryland. She was transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital where she died. Her mother described Watson as “the sunshine of our family,” a “caring, passionate” person who loved cooking and gardening.Source
- Chay Reed, a 28-year-old transgender woman of color, was shot and killed on 21 April in Miami, Florida. Reed’s longtime friend told Mic about their longtime friendship—describing her as someone who was full of life and beloved by many.Source
- Kenneth Bostick, a 59-year-old black trans person identifying as male, was found with severe injuries on a Manhattan sidewalk, and later died of his injuries. Few details about Bostick’s life have been reported; he may have been homeless at the time of the attack. Early reports also identified him under his previous name.Source
- Sherrell Faulkner, a 46-year-old black trans woman, died on 16 May from injuries sustained during an attack the previous year, on 30 November 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was found where she was left after the attack, next to a dumpster. Police are treating the assault as a homicide. No arrests have been made at this point.Source
- Kenne McFadden, a 27-year old black trans woman, was found in the San Antonio River on 9 April. Police believe she was pushed into the river, which runs through downtown San Antonio. A high-school friend of McFadden described her to local media as assertive, charismatic and lovable. No arrests have been made, but police said they have a person of interest in custody. Due to media misgendering McFadden, her identity as a trans woman was not corrected in news stories until June.Source
- Kendra Marie Adams, a 28-year old trans woman of color, was found in a building that was under construction and had burns on her body on 13 June, in Ithaca, New York. Police have charged Michael Davis, 45, with Adams’ murder. Adams also went by Josie Berrios, the name used in initial media reports on her death.Source
- Ava Le’Ray Barrin, a 17-year old trans woman, was shot and killed in Athens, Georgia, on Sunday, 25 June. She was killed by a person she knew after an altercation in a parking lot. She has been remembered as a “social butterfly” and an “amazing girl”.Source
- Ebony Morgan, a 28-year-old trans woman of color, was found shot in Lynchburg, Virginia, on Sunday 2 July. After being found shot in a residence, she was transported to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. The local police report uses her previous name but confirmed that she goes by Ebony.Source
- TeeTee Dangerfield, a 32-year-old transgender woman was found shot multiple times by her vehicle in Atlanta, Georgia, early morning Monday, 31 July. She was taken to the hospital and later died of her injuries.Source
- Gwenevere River Song, a 26-year-old person identifying as femandrogyne was shot in Waxahachie, Texas, on Saturday, 13 August.Source
- Kiwi Herring, a 30-year-old transwoman of color was shot by police following an altercation in St. Louis, Missouri on 22 August.Source
- Pepper K, aka Phoenix, a 33-year-old trans person was killed by another inmate while incarcerated in the Mansfield Correctional Institution. Phoenix was taken to an area hospital and died of their injuries on 25 August. They had participated in the Black and Pink LGBTQ prisoner online pen pal program.Source
- Ally Steinfeld 17-year-old trans person went missing early September. Ally’s body was found stabbed and burned in Texas County, Missouri. Three people have been arrested in Ally’s death.Source
- Kashmire Redd 28-year-old transgender man of color was stabbed to death in Gates, New York, early on 4 September.Source
- Derricka Banner 26-year-old trans woman of color was shot and killed in Charlotte, North Carolina in the early morning of 12 September.Source
- Scout Schultz 21 year-old non binary intersex student at Georgia Tech was shot and killed by police on September 16th after experiencing a mental break down on campus. Video was taken of Schultz carrying a small pocket knife while yelling “shoot me!” at police while walking towards them. Upon investigation it was revealed they had written three suicide notes in their dorm room.Source Source
- Stephanie Montez 47-year-old trans woman was shot multiple times near Corpus Christi, Texas 21 October. Source
- Candace Towns 30-year-old trans woman of color was found dead in Macon, Georgia 31 October. She was last seen alive 28 October and reported missing the following day. She was shot and left at the end of a driveway. Source
Kelli Busey an outspoken gonzo style journalist has been writing since 2007. In 2008, she brought the Dallas Advocate on-line and has articles published by the Reconciling Ministries Network, The Transsexual Menace, The Daily Kos, Frock Magazine the TransAdvocate, the Dallas Voice and The Advocate. Kelli, an avid runner is editor in chief at Planet Transgender which she founded in 2007.