Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

List of unlawfully killed transgender people

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List of unlawfully killed transgender people

This is a list of notable instances of transgender people murdered, mostly due to their transgender status/gender identity. Worldwide, as of 2009, one transgender person is murdered every three days. The list does not include deaths by suicide, accident, or other causes.

Contents

1980s

  • 1988 — Venus Xtravaganza was strangled to death in New York City on December 21. Her body was found four days later, shoved under a hotel bed.
  • 1989 — Carla Leigh Salazar was found stabbed to death in her apartment in California.

    • 1990s

  • 1991 — Sonia Rescalvo Zafra, a 45-year-old transgender woman was killed in the Parc de la Ciutadella, in Barcelona, Spain, by six skinhead neonazis who kicked her and her friend Dori repeatedly in the head, while they were lying on the floor. Her death was a wake up call for the Spanish LGBT movement, that begun to fight publicly the violence against the LGBT community.
  • 1993 — Brandon Teena, a 21-year-old trans man, was raped and murdered in Falls City, Nebraska on 31 December. Two men were convicted of first-degree murder in the incident, which became the subject of the Academy Award-winning film Boys Don't Cry.
  • 1998 — Rita Hester, a transgender woman, was found on the floor of her apartment in Allston, Massachusetts on November 28. She had suffered multiple stab wounds and later died at the hospital.

    • 2000

  • Christine Chappel, a 28-year-old woman, whose body was found near Lowestoft, England on 2 March. Her brother-in-law, Charles Halfacree, was jailed after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Former partner Alison Hooley was also later jailed for shielding Halfacree.
  • Amanda Milan was walking by Times Square when Dwayne McCuller walked up to her and began to harass and threaten her. Milan stood up to him and asked him if he wanted to fight. Witnesses said he declined. As he walked away, another young man, Eugene Celestine, told McCuller that he had a knife. McCuller grabbed it, and stabbed her in the neck. A man named David Anderson allegedly helped McCuller escape from the scene. Milan died soon after at St. Vincent's Hospital. Transgender activist Sylvia Rivera worked towards seeing that Milan's death was investigated and organized Milan's political funeral along with other demonstrations claiming a disconnection of transgender rights from the larger LGBT communities. After Milan's murder, Rivera reformed a transgender activist group, Street Trans Activist Revolutionaries (STAR). Rivera cited the crime amongst the reasons to add a broad definition of gender to the New York City Human Rights Law.

    • 2001

  • Loni Kai, a 28-year-old transgender woman, was killed during the night of 25 August near Hillsboro, Oregon. Her murder is still unsolved.

    • 2002

  • Gwen Araujo of Newark, California (died October 2002), an American teenage trans woman, was killed by four men, two of whom she had sexual actions with, who beat and strangled her after discovering she was transgender. Two of the defendants were convicted of second-degree murder, but not convicted on the requested hate crime enhancements. The other two defendants pleaded guilty or no contest to voluntary manslaughter. In at least one of the trials, a trans panic defense - an extension of the gay panic defense - was employed.

    • 2003

  • Nireah Johnson was an African American trans woman who was murdered in Indianapolis, Indiana by Paul Moore, who was initially sexually attracted to her and then discovered that she was transgender.
  • Shelby Tracy Tom was a Canadian transgender woman working as a sex worker in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, who was murdered by Jatin Patel on 27 May 2003. According to Patel, while having sex with her he noticed her surgery scars and he panicked as a result and strangled her. The prosecutor attempted to classify her death as a hate crime, but Supreme Court of British Columbia Justice Patrick Dohm ruled that the crime was not motivated by hate because he not know of her transgender identity when meeting her and thus could have not targeted her for it. Patel's defense attorney used a gay panic defense as part of his defense of Patel, who pleaded guilty to a charge of manslaughter and was sentenced to nine years.

    • 2006

  • Gisberta Salce Júnior, a Brazilian transgender woman was assassinated in Oporto, Portugal, by a group of 14 teenagers, between 12 and 16 years old, who tortured and raped her for 3 days, and finally threw her still alive into a well over 15 m deep, where she drowned. Eleven of the minors received a minimal sentence of under 13 months in an semi open education center of the Instituto de Reinserção Social, and two more received a sentence of additional education. Her death became a symbol of the violence against women and the LGBT comunitiy, and shortly after laws protecting trans women were introduced in Portugal.

    • 2008

  • Angie Zapata was a trans woman murdered on July 17, 2008, in Greeley, Colorado. Her death was the first case involving a transgender victim to be ruled a hate crime. Colorado is one of only eleven states that protect transgender victims under hate crime laws in the United States. Allen Andrade, who learned eighteen-year-old Angie was transgender after meeting her and spending several days with her, beat her to death with a fire extinguisher. In his arrest affidavit, Andrade calls Zapata "it", and during his trial a tape was played of a phone conversation in which he told his girl friend "gay things need to die". Andrade's attorneys used a gay panic defense. On April 22, 2009, Andrade was found guilty of first degree murder, hate crimes, and car/ID theft. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
  • Lateisha "Tiesh" Green was shot and killed on November 14, 2008 outside a house party in Syracuse, New York. Convicted of Onondaga County's first hate-crime homicide, Dwight R. DeLee, was motivated by anti-LGBT bias and his belief that Lateisha was gay.

    • 2010

  • Sonia Burgess was a transgender woman and leading British immigration lawyer. On 25 October 2010, she was pushed under an incoming train in London by a transgender woman acquaintance, Nina Kanagasingham.
  • Stacey Blahnik, a 31-year-old trans woman, was found murdered in her Point Breeze, Philadelphia home by her boyfriend on 14 October 2010. Blahnik was remembered by friends as a "peacemaker and a caretaker" who "would give the shirt off of her back to anyone".
  • Victoria Carmen White, a black trans woman, was murdered in September 2010. Alrashim Chambers was brought to trial for her death, but he was acquitted; he blamed another man, Marquise Foster, for the murder. The only motive suggested was transphobic violence; the words "You a dude?" were heard by White's friends (who were in an adjacent room) shortly before gunshots were fired.

    • 2011

  • Marcal Camero Tye was a black 25-year-old trans woman from Forrest City, Arkansas. On March 8, an unknown individual shot her in the head and dragged her behind or under their car. The murder is to date unsolved.
  • Dee Dee Pierson, a black transgender woman,was murdered on December 24, 2011. Kenyon Jones confessed to the murder, telling police that he had paid Pierson for sex and when he found out she was transgender, he became angry and killed her.

    • 2012

  • Crain Cornaway, a 47-year-old black trans woman, was beaten to death in her home in Oceanside, California.
  • Deoni Jones, a 23-year-old black trans woman, was stabbed in the face and killed on February 2, in Washington, D.C.
  • Agnés Torres Hernández, a 28-year-old trans woman activist, was murdered on 10 March in Atlixco, Puebla, Mexico.
  • Coko Williams, a 35-year-old trans woman of color, was found dead in Detroit on April 4. She had been shot and her throat had been cut.
  • Tyrell Jackson, a 23-year-old black trans woman, was shot dead on April 4, in Riviera Beach, Florida. A friend of hers was injured in the same attack.
  • Paige Clay, a 23-year-old black trans woman, was found dead on April 16 in Chicago. She had been shot in the face.
  • Brandy Martell, a 37-year-old black trans woman, was shot to death on April 29, in Oakland, California.
  • Lorena Extravaganza, a Puerto Rican trans woman, was found unconscious and unresponsive on May 12 in her Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City apartment. Escalera's apartment was set on fire after she had been strangled then suffocated, apparently by two men whom she had brought into her home.
  • Tracey Johnson, a 40-year-old trans woman, was shot to death in Baltimore, Maryland on July 5.
  • Tiffany Gooden, a 19-year-old black trans woman, was found August 14 in Chicago dead from multiple stab wounds a few blocks from where Paige Clay's body was discovered. Both murders are still unsolved.
  • Deja Johnson, a 33-year-old black trans woman, was shot dead on August 26 in Miami, Florida.
  • Kendall Hampton, a 26-year-old black trans woman, was shot dead in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 29.
  • Kyra "Cruz" Cordova, a 27-year-old biracial trans woman, was shot in the head on September 3, in Philadelphia.
  • January Marie Lapuz was stabbed to death on September 29, in New Westminster, Canada.
  • Rene "Rosita" Hidalgo Hernandez, a Hispanic transgender woman, was found dead on March 15, in Miami, Florida. Police arrested her assailant Miguel Pavon, who was assumed to be one of her clients, later that year.

    • 2013

  • Evon Young, a black trans man who went missing on 2 January, was later found tortured and murdered. A friend claimed five men were responsible.
  • Cernia "Ce Ce" Dove a black 20-year-old trans woman, was stabbed to death in the Cleveland, Ohio area on 5 January by Andrey Bridges, authorities later confirmed. Her body was found at bottom of a pond on April 17 with a rope tying her waist to a concrete block. She had been reported missing on March 27.
  • Kelly Young, a 29-year-old black trans woman, was shot inside her home in Baltimore on April 3, and died the next day.
  • Ashley Sinclair, a 30-year-old black trans woman, was murdered on 4 April.
  • Islan Nettles, a 21-year-old black trans woman, was beaten to death in Harlem, New York on August 17 after a group of at least seven men accosted her and two of her transgender friends. One of the men, James Dixon, had been flirting with her. After he realized she was transgender, he struck her. After falling down, Dixon proceeded to beat her. She died of head injuries in hospital. Her death prompted a number of protests. On April 21, 2016, Dixon was sentenced 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
  • Dominique Newburn, a 32-year-old black trans woman, was murdered by her former boyfriend on August 20.
  • Eyricka Morgan, a black trans woman, was stabbed to death in September. She died on September 24 at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Devonte Scott, 21, was arrested following Morgan’s death and charged with murder, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.
  • Jessica Vargas Bringas, aka José Manuel Vargas Bringas, a trans woman, was stabbed to death by Jonathan Hernández García on 13 October 2013, in Altamira, Mexico.
  • Melony Smith was found dead in a motel room in Baldwin Park, Los Angeles on September 9. Stephen Gonzalez received a 26-year prison sentence for her death.
  • Betty Skinner, a 52-year-old white disabled trans woman, was found dead in her assisted living complex in Cleveland on 5 December. Police believe she was beaten to death.
  • Brittany-Nicole Kidd-Stergis, a black 22-year-old trans woman, was found dead in her parked car with a gunshot wound to her head on December 6, 2013. Some of the local media was criticized for referring to her as a man while reporting on her murder. She was the third transgender woman killed in 2013 in the Cleveland area.
  • Dwayne Jones, murdered in Jamaica, West Indies on 22 July 2013.

    • Australia

  • Mayang Prasetyo, a 27 year old Indonesian trans woman, was murdered in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia by her husband, Marcus Peter Volke, 28, a chef, in early October 2014. Ads reveal Ms Prasetyo charged from $200 to $500 for her services as an “international escort”. Volke took his own life shortly after police found the woman's remains boiling on the stove in the couple's Brisbane flat.

    • Eurasia

  • Çağla Joker was fatally shot in Istanbul on 21 April, while another trans woman was shot but survived.
  • Cingene Gül was killed in her home in Istanbul on 10 October.
  • Keeta Bakhsh died following a police beating on 23 October in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, that occurred while police raided her house. Police originally claimed her injuries were due to jumping from a moving police van but have since suspended the raid's leader.
  • Mahadevi, a 22-year-old disabled trans woman, was pushed off a moving train in Bangalore, India on 24 September.

    • Canada

  • Rosa Rebut, an Indonesian trans woman, was found beaten to death in an Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, hotel on November 24. Police arrested Marcel Cristian Niculae and charged him with second-degree murder.

    • United States

  • Yaz’min Shancez, a 31-year-old black trans woman, was found dead behind a garbage bin in Fort Myers, Florida on June 19. Her body was badly burned post-mortem.
  • Kandy Hall was found dead due to massive bodily trauma by an unknown object in a field near a school in Baltimore, Maryland on June 3.
  • Zoraida "Ale" Reyes, a 28-year-old Mexican-American trans woman, was discovered on June 12 behind a Dairy Queen Restaurant in Anaheim, California. Police arrested Randy Lee Parkerson for choking her to death.
  • Tiffany Edwards, a 28-year-old black trans woman, was killed by Quamar Edwards (no relation) on June 26 in Walnut Hills, Cincinnati.
  • Mia Henderson, a black trans woman, was found dead in Baltimore, Maryland on July 16. Her murder reportedly bore similarities to the recent, local murder of Kandy Hall.
  • Alejandra Leos, a Latina trans woman, was shot in the back and died on September 5 in Memphis, Tennessee.
  • Aniya Parker, a black trans woman, was murdered on October 3 in Los Angeles during what police considered a robbery gone wrong, though the attackers did not take her purse and advocates believe she was targeted due to being transgender.
  • Shelley Hilliard, a 19-year old trans woman who was also known as "Treasure", was killed on October 23 in Detroit. Hilliard's body was badly burned.
  • Ashley (Michelle) Sherman, a black trans woman, was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head in Indianapolis, Indiana, on October 27.
  • Breana "Gizzy" Fowler, a black trans woman, was found shot dead outside her car in Nashville, Tennessee on November 12.
  • Deshawnda Sanchez, a 21-year-old black trans woman, was shot and killed on December 3, in Los Angeles.

    • Oceania

  • Jennifer Laude was murdered in Olongapo, Philippines, on 11 October. Joseph Scott Pemberton was convicted of the murder. Pemberton reportedly killed her after discovering she was a pre-operative transsexual.
  • Mary Jo Añonuevo was strangled and stabbed 33 times in the bar she owned in Lucena City, Philippines, on 22 October.

    • South America

  • Marcela Duque was stoned to death by a group of attackers on 9 September in Medellín, Columbia.

    • Asia

  • Yoshi Tsuchida (aged 38) of Fussa City, Tokyo, Japan, a transgender man, was discovered wrapped in a blanket at his apartment on 12 November 2015. Police reported that Tsuchida's face had been sliced off with a sharp instrument. Pathology tests on Tsuchida's body found the cause of death to be medicinal poisoning. Tsuchida's body was discovered by his adopted daughter.

    • United States

    During 2015 in the United States more than twenty transgender women were murdered, the largest number on record:

  • Papi Edwards, from Indianapolis, Indiana and Louisville, Kentucky, died of a single bullet wound to the chest at Fern Valley Motel in Louisville on January 9. Henry Richard Gleaves was arrested for Edwards' murder and is being held on a $500,000 bond. The Advocate, among other media sources, originally reported that Edwards identified as a black gay man answering to Lamar and/or Goddess, who likely wore drag. It has since been confirmed by others close to Papi, and reported by various sources that Edwards identified as a female.
  • Lamia Beard, a black transgender woman from Norfolk, Virginia, was found with life-threatening gunshot wounds on the morning of January 17. She was taken to the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where she died.
  • Ty Underwood, a black transgender woman from Tyler, Texas, was found in her car, dead from three gunshot wounds, on January 26. Her roommate feels she may have been targeted because she was a transgender woman.
  • Yazmin Vash Payne, a black transgender woman from Van Nuys, California, was found stabbed and burned to death in her apartment on January 31. The following day her boyfriend confessed to the murder and surrendered to police.
  • Taja DeJesus, a Latina trans woman, was stabbed to death in San Francisco, California on February 3. She was 36 years old. The man believed to have stabbed her, James Hays 49, was found dead a short distance away.
  • Penny Proud, a black trans woman from New Orleans, Louisiana, died of multiple gunshot injuries on February 10, 2015.
  • Bri Golec, a white trans woman or gender-nonconforming person, was stabbed to death by their father, Kevin Golic, on February 13, 2015. Bri was a 22-year-old living with his father at the time. According to a bandmate, Brian (as he was formerly known) dropped the trans identifier and identified as an androgynous pansexual man. His father called 911 after the stabbing, claiming it was "the cult" that had broken in and stabbed Brian. The cult he referred to is believed to be a local trans support group. Police determined that no one had broken in. Kevin Golic is being charged with murder and felony domestic violence.
  • Kristina Gomez Reinwald, a Latina trans woman from Miami, Florida, was found dead in her apartment on February 15. She was 46 years old. The case was initially considered a suicide, but news broke on February 19 that police are now treating it as homicide.
  • Keyshia Blige, a 33-year-old black trans woman from Montgomery, Illinois, was killed March 7, 2015. Blige was shot while driving and crashed while attempting to drive herself to the hospital. "Police declined to comment on the motive for the shooting, but described it as "not random." Although she had performed for many years under the name, Blige just started transitioning in January 2015. "Stiff's mother said, though her [child] had begun taking the hormones in January, already she noticed a new glow to [her] skin." Blige was reported as male in the news.
  • Vanessa Santillan, a 33-year-old Mexican trans woman from Miami, Florida, suffered fatal injuries to her head and neck in an apartment in Fulham, London, England on 28 March after responding to a neighbor's phone call.
  • London Chanel, a 21-year-old black trans woman, died May 18 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, after being fatally stabbed in the back and neck by Raheam Felton, who was the boyfriend of one of her roommates.
  • Mercedes Williamson, a 17-year-old white trans woman from Alabama was killed in George County, Mississippi by Josh Vallum. Her body was found June 2 after Vallum told his father about the murder.
  • India Clarke, a 25-year-old black trans woman, was shot dead in Tampa, Florida on July 21. Clarke was subsequently misgendered in reports by media and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
  • Amber Monroe, a 20-year-old black trans woman, was shot in Detroit, Michigan, on 8 August. She had been shot on three prior occasions, her fear of the police kept her from reporting the crimes.
  • Kandis Capri, a black 35-year-old trans woman, was shot in Phoenix, Arizona, on August 11.
  • Elisha Walker, a black trans woman, was found dead in a shallow grave in Johnston County, North Carolina, on August 15. She had been reported missing a year before.
  • Tamara Dominguez, a 36-year-old Latina trans woman from Kansas City, Missouri, was run over by an SUV truck multiple times on August 16 at 3:00 am local time. Dominguez's brother, Alberto, offered forgiveness to the person who ran over Tamara during the argument which killed her: "We are not here to judge nobody, and he (Alberto) hopes that person really feels bad for what he did."
  • Kiesha Jenkins, a 22-year-old black trans woman from North Philadelphia, was beaten and shot by five to six men after getting out of a car. Jenkins was a student at Temple University after graduating from Benjamin Franklin High School. "In her spare time, [Jenkins] enjoyed drawing and designing tattoos for friends" and eventually hoped to become a graphic designer, according to her family. Jenkins' family described as her "'comfortable' in her own skin, artistic and meticulous about fashion" who was a loving caregiver to her grandmother and other family members.
  • Zella Ziona, a black 21-year-old trans woman, was shot to death on 15 October in Montgomery County, Maryland. Ziona worked as a caregiver in an assisted-living facility. Rico Hector LeBlond, aged 20, was arrested as the perpetrator.

    • South America

  • Fernanda "Coty" Olmos, aged 59, of Santa Fe, Argentina was found in her Alfonso home stabbed and shot to death on 25 September 2015. Area neighbors and media believe "the brutality of the murder suggests that this is a transphobic crime, a femicide against a transgender woman". Olmos was fondly remembered for her "charitable work during the dramatic floods" that hit Sante Fe in 2003.
  • Marcela Estefania Chocobar, aged 26, of Tartagal was found murdered in Santa Cruz, Argentina. Chocobar was a transgender activist in Argentina who went missing for several days before her remains were found. Her body was so badly burned and dismembered that her identity had to be verified by DNA.
  • Amancay Diana Sacayán, aged 40, of Flores, Buenos Aires, Argentina. Sacayán was a prominent transgender activist who served on the board of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association and was a leader of Argentina's Antidiscrimination Liberation Movement. She was found in her apartment on 13 October with multiple stab wounds. Her death is being investigated as a hate crime.

    • Asia

  • Alisha, a 23-year-old transgender activist, was shot seven times and died 25 May in the Lady Reading Hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. Hospital staff spent over an hour determining whether to place Alisha in a male or female patient ward. Fellow transgender activists reported being taunted as they waited for Alisha outside the emergency room.
  • Hande Kader, a 22-year-old transgender woman, was raped and burned to death in Istanbul, Turkey. Her body was found on 12 August. Kader worked as a sex worker and was last seen getting in a client's car. She was also a prominent activist in the LGBTI community of Turkey and had appeared in LGBTI rights events in the country, including a 2015 Gay Pride event in Istanbul that was cracked down on by police.
  • Tara, a 28-year-old transgender woman was found severely burnt outside of Pondy Bazaar police station. She died at the Kilpauk Medical College in Chennai on the morning of 9 November. Police had stopped her the night before and accused her of soliciting sex work while she charged her phone at a 24-hour store. They confiscated her phone and the keys to her vehicle that night. According to a friend, when she argued, she was assaulted by the police, who then took her to the police station for questioning, where they allegedly assaulted her again.
  • Barbie Ann Reilly, a 23-year-old transgender woman, was murdered by her partner, in Pasay City, Philippines. Her body was found stuffed inside a suitcase along the Cavite Expressway in Cavite on 3 June 2016.

    • Australia

  • Nadine Stransen, a white transgender woman of Sydney, New South Wales, was found murdered in her apartment on 6 February 2016.

    • Europe

  • Niurkeli, a 33-year-old trans woman from Ecuador, strangled and burned on 21 October in Nantes, France. A suspect has been arrested.
  • William Lound, a 30-year-old transgender man from England, suffered multiple stab wounds and died on 8 February at the University of Salford, where he had been a student.
  • Lorena F. Zaratevilcas, a 53-year-old Peruvian transgender woman and sex worker, was killed by a gunshot to the head, on 21 February in Rouen, France. She was found in the stairs of the building in which she lived.

    • Mexico

  • Monica Pineda Rivera, a trans woman, was killed by an unknown taxi driver on 10 February in Cuernavaca, Mexico.
  • Paulett Gonzalez, a 24-year-old trans woman and beauty queen was murdered and burned beyond recognition. She was found by police in Celaya, Guanajuato in July, one month after her disappearance in the nearby city of Irapuato.

    • United States

  • Monica Loera, a 43-year-old Latina trans woman from North Austin, Texas was murdered on January 22, 2016. A man demanded entry to her home claiming to have forgotten his jacket; when she opened the door, he shot her. He was subsequently arrested. For days, both the media and police report identified her as a man and referred to her using her birth name. Loera was a sex worker; the killer was likely a client; he had been seen earlier leaving her home "patting his pockets".
  • Jasmine Sierra, a 52-year-old Latina trans woman from Bakersfield, California, was found dead in an apartment on 22 January, with her body showing signs of trauma and foul play according to police. Local media had identified her as male and used her birth name.
  • Kayden Clarke, a 24-year-old white transgender man with Asperger's syndrome from Mesa, Arizona, was fatally shot on February 4 by police responding to a call to check on him. Some media reports erroneously identified him as a woman and used his former name. Some autism and disability advocacy groups were also upset by the killing of Clarke, seeing his death as highlighting the discrimination against autistic transgender people and transgender people with other developmental disabilities or mental health issues and the poor training of many police responding to mental health crises, and issued a joint statement with some LGBT groups condemning the killing of Clarke. Clarke posted videos on YouTube describing his experiences and was well-known from a viral video that showed him being calmed down during an Asperger's meltdown by his dog.
  • Veronica Banks Cano, a black trans woman, was found dead on February 19, fully clothed in a bathtub in San Antonio, Texas.
  • Maya Young, a 25-year-old black trans woman was fatally stabbed in Frankford, Philadelphia on February 20, 2016.
  • Demarkis Stansberry, a 30-year-old African-American transgender man of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was fatally shot on February 27, by an acquaintance. Some media reports identified him as a woman and used his former name.
  • Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson, 16-year-old black genderfluid individual (who went by both names and used the pronoun they), was found dead by Burlington, Iowa police on 2 March, having been shot several times and left in an alley.
  • Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum, a 32-year-old trans woman of color, was murdered on March 23, in Los Angeles. After a domestic dispute, she was out walking her dogs when a man came up to her and shot her in the head. The suspect was detained by a security guard and was subsequently arrested and charged.
  • Shante Thompson, a 34-year-old black transgender woman, was beaten and fatally shot in Houston, Texas on April 11. Witnesses reported that she and a male friend were swarmed by a group of up to eight people on the side of a roadway in the Midtown area.
  • Keyonna Blakeney, a 22-year-old black trans woman from Upper Marlboro, Maryland who had attended Bowie State University, was found dead in a hotel room in Rockville, Maryland on April 16, with trauma to the upper body indicating she had been beaten and murdered. Police believed she was involved with prostitution.
  • Reese/Reecey Walker, a 32-year-old black transgender woman from Wichita, Kansas, was stabbed to death in the evening of May 1, in her Windridge apartment bedroom. A 16-year-old boy was arrested and booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on suspicion of second-degree murder. Her family hosted a candlelight vigil on Wednesday, May 4, in front of her apartment as well as a Celebration of Life for her at her family's home on Friday, 6 May.
  • Mercedes Successful, a 32-year-old black transgender woman was found dead in a Haines City, Florida parking lot on 15 May 2016, after being shot. Born in Jamaica, West Indies, she was an active member of the LGBT community in the United States.
  • Amos Beede, a 38-year-old homeless transgender man was severely beaten in Burlington, Vermont on 23 May. He died of his injuries (broken bones, internal bleeding in the brain) in the hospital six days later, on May 29.
  • Goddess Diamond, a 20-year-old black trans woman, was found in a torched car in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 5. She died from blunt force trauma before the car was burned.
  • Deeniquia Dodds, a 22-year-old black trans woman, was shot in the neck near her home in Washington D.C. on July 4, 2016. The shot left her hospitalized on life support until she died on July 14.
  • Dee Whigham, a 25-year-old black trans woman who worked as a nurse, was stabbed to death in the face and body on July 23 in her hotel room in Biloxi, Mississippi, where she was staying with friends to see a rodeo. Police arrested a 20-year-old as the suspected killer.
  • Erykah/Erika Tijerina, a 36-year-old Latina trans woman, was found dead in her apartment in El Paso, Texas on August 8, 2016. A police officer who entered the apartment discovered "obvious signs of foul play". Her sisters expressed belief that her death was a hate crime.
  • Rae'Lynn Thomas, a 28-year-old black trans woman, was shot twice in front of her mother, and then beaten to death by James Allen Byrd in Columbus, Ohio on August 10, as she begged for her life. Byrd called her "the devil" and made transphobic comments. Her family called for the murder to be investigated as a hate crime, but Ohio hate crime statues do not cover gender identity.
  • T.T. Saffore, a trans woman, aged 26 or 27, from Chicago's West Side was found murdered in Chicago's Garfield Park the evening of September 11, 2016. Her throat had been cut and a knife was found nearby. According to a friend of T.T., Saffore got into an altercation on Madison Street with a younger trans woman who pulled a knife and allegedly said "I'm going to get you killed." Saffore did not report the crime to the Chicago Police Department due to a fear of abuse from CPD officers towards trans women who live on the West Side. Major media outlets misgendered her.
  • Crystal Edmonds, a 32-year-old black trans woman, was killed in Baltimore on September 16, 2016.
  • Jazz Alford, a 30-year-old black trans woman from North Carolina, was killed in her hotel room in Birmingham, Alabama on 23 September 2016. She was initially misgendered by the police, but her sister Toya Milan, also a trans woman, corrected the record as to her sister's gender.
  • Brandi Bledsoe, a 32-year-old black trans woman from Cleveland, Ohio, was found dead in a driveway on 8 October 2016. Her body, wearing only underwear with white plastic bags covering her head and hands. She was found by a 5-year-old boy.
  • Sierra/Simon Bush, a white 18-year-old gender nonconforming Boise State University student went missing on September 24. Their body was found naked in a rural area creek south of Idaho City, Idaho, about 30 miles away from their home a month later, on October 25. An investigation is still ongoing, "Police have not said whether they suspect foul play in her death, or whether Bush left Boise of her own volition. But Boise Police Sgt. Justin Kendall said the case is being investigated as suspicious.
  • Noony Norwood, a 30-year-old transgender woman of color, was shot and killed on November 5, 2016 in Virginia. Police are investigating surveillance of a man leaving the scene. They are not yet clear about what the motive of the killer may have been.
  • India Monroe, a 29-year-old trans woman of color, was found shot to death on December 21, 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.

    • Brazil

  • Nathallya Figueiredo, a 25-year-old transgender woman, was stabbed to death in a car in Capão da Canoa in January 2016. A caretaker of a building nearby the scene had witnessed the scene and alerted police. Her body was found buried in Cachoeirinha in the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre.
  • Bié, aka Bianca Abravanel, a 25-year-old transgender woman, was murdered on 4 April 2016 in the Vila Rica neighborhood of Ribeirão, Pernambuco, Brazil. Four men approached Bianca and shot her at least 15 times in the face and chest. A 16-year-old male who was with Bianca had tried to hide from the killers but was hit by a shot in his left leg and injured.
  • T.E. de M. Geremias, a 37-year-old massage therapist trans woman was fatally stabbed in the Sao Marcos neighborhood of Valinhos on 12 February.
  • Paula, a transgender woman, identified only as "Paula", was found by police on the side of a road in the municipality of Goiandira on 16 May, with head injuries. She was sent to the Santa Casa de Misericórdia de Catalão emergency room but because of a lack of documents was later transferred to a hospital in Goiania where she died four days later, on 20 May. A suspect was arrested in the case but further details are unknown.
  • Jessica Mendes Cavalcanti, 24-year-old trans woman, was surrounded by two young men and fatally stabbed to death in the Canaa neighborhood of Uberlandia on 19 April. One of the suspects who was apprehended by police confessed to Cavalcanti being transgender as being a motive of the crime.
  • Leticia B. da Silva, a 22-year-old trans woman, was murdered in Benguí, Belem, on 5 May. Two men on motorcycles had come by her as she was walking home and one of them fatally shot her.
  • Andinho, a trans woman, was shot several times and apparently died on the scene, in Aracaju, Sergipe, on 29 March.

    • North America

  • Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, a 28 year old Native American trans woman was found murdered in her apartment in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on January 7th, however, she is believed to have died at least several days prior.
  • Mesha Caldwell, a 41-year-old black trans woman, was found shot to death on a road near Canton, Mississippi on January 4.
  • Jojo Striker, a 23-year-old trans woman of color, was found shot to death in a garage in Toledo, Ohio, on February 8. She suffered one gunshot wound to her chest.
  • Jaquarrius Holland, an 18-year-old black trans woman, was shot during a verbal altercation in Monroe, Louisiana on February 19.
  • 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 February 23rd, 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.
  • Chyna Doll Dupree, a black trans woman, also known as Chyna Gibson, was shot in New Orleans on February 25, 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".
  • 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 February 27.

    • South America

  • Dandara dos Santos, a 42 year old Brazilian trans woman was tortured and shot in the face in Bom Jardim, a poor neighborhood of Fortaleza, on February 15th. The incident was filmed and published, which helped apprehend the at least five men who attacked her.

    • References

    List of unlawfully killed transgender people Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA