Sasha Garden

Sasha Garden, a 27-year-old transgender woman, was found dead at 5 a.m. Thursday, July 19, near Buchanan Lake Apartments in Orlando, Fla. Police said there were signs of trauma on the body, but they have not yet released a cause of death, according to a report by LGBTQ Nation.

She is at least the 15th transgender person to be murdered this year in the U.S. The other victims are listed here.

Community members there said that response by officials and mainstream media in the area have added a layer of insult to the tragic death. Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies repeatedly misgendered the victim, and news reports referred to her as a man in a dress and a wig. Even after transgender advocates notified them of the error, officials and the media delayed in correcting their mistake.

Mulan Montrese Williams, who opens her home as a safe haven for trans sex workers in the area, said that when deputies came to her door asking for her help in identifying Garden’s body, “As soon as I opened the door, I get, ‘I hear a bunch of transvestites stay here.’ I had to let them know, I’m a transgender woman and I’m the only one that stays here.”

She said that she corrected the deputies’ language and made sure to tell them that the victim’s name was “Sasha,” but that the deputy “acted like he couldn’t even pronounce transgender.”

Orlando Weekly reports that several people contacted WESH and WFTV to have them correct their articles, but they said that they wouldn’t, according to LGBTQ Nation. Local TV station WFTV said they only report what the police tell them to report, and another station, WESH, said that they took the complaints to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and were told that Garden’s driver’s license says she is male.

A few hours later, however, the Orange County SO issued an updated report referring to Garden as a trans woman, and WESH and WFTV updated their stories.

The organization Queer Latinx issued a statement saying that news of Garden’s death is “one of absolute heartbreak and tragedy,” adding, “We are equally heart-broken by the flagrant disrespect and desecration of her memory by the media that has chosen to dishonor and misgender her in their reporting.”

The organization called on officials and news media to issue an apology.

Friends said that Garden was originally from Milwaukee, Wisc. Montrese Williams said the dead woman had been “traveling a lot, trying to find a new home and find herself,” and that she was a “very outgoing person, very outspoken — somewhat of a firecracker.”

Detectives have asked that anyone with information about Garden’s death call the Orange County Sheriff’s Office at 407-254-7000.