Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Sasha Wall was 29 years old when she died from gunshot wounds on Sunday, April 1, 2018 on a rural road in South Carolina. She was found at 8 AM on Easter morning after cars had passed her parked-but-running vehicle for two hours. Sasha was a Black trans woman. That’s a horrifying metaphor for American Christianity.

From The Advocate:

Wall, 29, who was initially misgendered and deadnamed by local media, was shot several times in the neck and shoulder, reports Columbia, S.C., newspaper The State. She was found on a road in rural Chesterfield County.

Her car was sitting on the road, running, for nearly two hours, Chesterfield County Sheriff Jay Brooks told Charlotte, N.C., TV station WSOC. The car “was in park, but it was right in the roadway,” he said. “People were just going around it.”

Police told media outlets that they believe this was a domestic dispute, that Sasha knew her killer. They described the killer as ‘angry’ based on the crime scene, specifically the number of shots they found in Sasha’s car.

Anyone with information regarding Wall’s death is asked to call investigators at 843-623-2101.

Sasha deserved better, in life and in death. We can argue the finer points about what constitutes a hate or bias crime with regard to domestic violence, but we should be talking about the intersection of domestic violence, gun violence, gender identity, racial justice and more. Being murdered by someone you know could be hate. It could be tied to the unrelenting violence that members of the trans community experience every day.

Rest in power Sasha. We will continue to lift up your name, your life, and your death to find justice for you.

The list of trans people killed in 2018 thus far. Note that people have different numbers based on different factors. The most important thing that unites us all is that we want the violence to stop. We need to keep asking ‘Where is the outrage?’ During 2017, we lost at least 25 trans neighbors. May 2018 be more merciful.

1. Christa Leigh Steele-Knudslien – Massachusetts (January 6) 42 years old
2. Viccky Gutierrez – Los Angeles (January 9), 33 years old
3. Tonya ‘Kita’ Harvey – Buffalo (February 6), 35 years old
4. Celine Walker –  Jacksonville, Florida (February 4), 36 years old
5. Phylicia Mitchell – Cleveland (February 23), 46 years old
6. Zakaria Fry – Stanley, New Mexico (February 19), 28 years old
7. Amia Tyrae Berryman – Baton Rouge (March 26), 28 years old
8. Sasha Wall – Chesterfield, South Carolina (April 1), 29 years old