At least 22 transgender people have died violently so far in 2018, according to the Human Rights Campaign, and at least two other men who dressed regularly in women’s clothing have been killed as well, including one here in Dallas in October.
The tally of 22 does not include three trans women killed between Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20, 2017, and the first of this year. We list these victims here now to honor their memories:
• Brooklyn BreYanna Stevenson,
31, murdered in a motel room in Oklahoma City on Nov. 27, 2017.
• Brandi Seals,
26, shot to death in a Houston neighborhood on Dec. 13, 2017.
• Rhiannon Layendecker, 51,
shot and killed by her wife, Jessica Winkler, also transgender, after a domestic dispute in their home on Dec. 16, 2017, in Englewood, Fla. Both women are transgender.
2018
• Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien,
42, killed by her husband in their home in North Adams, Mass., on Jan. 5.
• Viccky Gutierrez,
33, stabbed and her body set ablaze inside her Los Angeles home on Jan. 10.
• Celine Walker,
36, shot to death in a hotel room in Jacksonville, Fla., on Feb. 4
• Tonya Harvey,
35, shot to death in Buffalo, N.Y., on Feb. 6.
• Zakaria Fry,
28, went missing in New Mexico in mid-January. Her body was found 40 miles outside of Albuquerque on Feb. 19. Albuquerque Police arrested and charged Charles Spiess with two open counts of murder.
• Phylicia Mitchell,
45, shot and killed outside her home in Cleveland, Ohio, on Feb. 23. Gary Sanders has been charged with aggravated murder in her death.
• Amia Tyrae Berryman,
28, shot to death at a Baton Rouge, La., motel on March 26.
• Sasha Wall,
29, shot to death in Chesterfield Coutny, S.C., on April 1. The FBI is assisting local investigators.
• Karla Patricia Flores-Pavón,
26, choked to death in her apartment in Dallas on May 9. Dallas Police arrested 24-year-old Jimmy Eugene Johnson III for her murder.
• Nino Fortson,
36, shot to death in Atlanta on May 13.
• Gigi Pierce,
28, shot to death in Portland, Ore., on May 21. Sophia Adler has been charged with her murder.
• Antash’a English,
38, killed in a drive-by shooting in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 1.
• Diamond Stephens,
39, shot to death on June 18 in Meridian, Miss.
• Cathalina Christina James,
24, shot to death in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 24. James was the third transgender woman murdered and the fourth shot in Jacksonville this year, leading to concerns that a serial killer targeting trans women may be active in the area.
• Keisha Wells,
54, shot to death in the parking lot of a Cleveland, Ohio apartment complex on June 24.
• Sasha Garden,
27, was found dead with signs of trauma in Orlando, Fla., on July 19.
• Vontashia Bell,
18, shot to death in Shreveport, La., on Aug. 30.
• Dejanay Stanton,
24, shot to death in Chicago on Aug. 30.
• Shantee Tucker,
30, shot to death in Philadelphia on Sept. 5.
• Londonn Moore,
20, shot to death in a remote area of North Port, Fla. on Sept. 8.
• Nikki Enriquez,
28, was one of four women killed in South Texas in September in a “serial killing spree” allegedly carried out by a U.S. Border Patro agent.
• Ciara Minaj Carter Frazier,
31, stabbed to death during an argument with an unidentified man, who left her body behind an abandoned building in Chicago on Oct. 3.
ALSO:
• Roxsana Hernandez
died May 25 while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after fleeing violence and discrimination in Honduras.
• Jessie Sumlar,
who regularly performed in drag and identified as queer, was stabbed to death in Jacksonville, Fla., on July 19.
• Traylon Brown,
aka Britnee White, who identified as a gay man but often dressed in women’s clothing, was shot to death in his car in South Dallas on Oct. 21.
…………….
TDOR EVENTS
In Dallas
Transgender Pride of Dallas, Cathedral of Hope and Black Transmen Inc., will hold a Transgender Day of Remembrance event Tuesday, Nov. 20 from 7-9 p.m. at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young St., in Dallas.
Speakers will include Jayla Wilkerson, Krista De La Rosa, the mother of a local transgender child and others, discussing several topics of interest to the trans community. After the names of transgender victims of violence in 2018 are read, participants will go across the street to gather at the flagpole in front of Dallas City Hall for a candlelight vigil in memory of the victims.
In Denton
Denton Trans-Cendence, OUTreach Denton and UNT Pride Alliance host an event Tuesday, Nov. 20, from 6-8 p.m. at the Denton County Courthouse honoring transgender and gender non-conforming people who lost their lives to violence.
The event includes open worship at First United Methodist Church of Denton with a labyrinth walk beginning at 5:45 p.m. at 111 E. Sycamore St. and ending on the courthouse lawn in time to join the vigil at 7 p.m. In the event of rain, the walk will be in Flinn Hall Lounge, accessed via Cole Chapel entrance on Locust.
Weekend conference
Cathedral of Hope’s Transgender Conference has merged with the Red Letter Christian Dallas Revival Event, Nov. 16-17 at St. Luke “Community” United Methodist Church, 5710 East R. L. Thornton Freeway. Contact the church at 214-821-2970 for details.
