Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Late late night, I learned from my Facebook friend Monica Jones that a trans woman had been killed in Phoenix. Her name was Kandis Capri and she was 35 years old. Few details are available, but an account in The Guardian describes a domestic altercation involving Kandis’ housemate. Note, the Guardian interviews her mother who in turn chooses to use male pronouns to refer to Kandis. I’ve replaced the male pronouns with gender neutral pronouns for clarity in this excerpt:

“The only thing I know [for sure] is that [they} was murdered,” Andria Gaines, Capri’s mother, told the Guardian. “[Kandis] was shot and I don’t know all the circumstances.”

Gaines continued: “[Capri] was at a lady’s apartment who {they} had been staying with for a couple weeks. And the only thing I know is that the car {they} had rented had been towed or something, or suspected of being towed away, so {they} left her apartment and was shot.”

Gaines said she was scheduled to receive an autopsy report later this week, and she had already been briefed on some of its findings.

“The detective advised me that they have completed the autopsy report and that it was determined that {they} had been shot three to four times,” she said. “And I did ask her: in the front [or] the back? And she said both.”

Kandis is either the 15th or 16th trans woman murdered this year, the 13th or 14th trans woman of color and the 3rd trans woman to be reported dead this past week. And she was shot multiple times from multiple directions? Dear God, that’s an execution. These blog posts are becoming a horrible pattern reflecting a terrible epidemic in our society.

Papi Edwards, 20, Louisville, January 9

Lamia Beard, 30, Norfolk on January 17

Ty Underwood, 24, Tyler TX on January 26

Yazmin Vash Payne, 33, LA on January 31

Taja de Jesus, 36, San Fran February 1

Penny Proud, 21, New Orleans February 10

Bri Golec, 22, Akron on February 13

Kristina Grant Infiniti, 47, Miami on February 15

London Chanel, 21, Philadelphia on May 18

Mercedes Williamson, 17, Alabama on May 30

India Clarke, 25, Tampa on July 22

K.C. Haggard, 66, Fresno on July 23

Amber Monroe, 20, Detroit on August 8

Ms. Shade Schuler, 22, Dallas, date of death unknown

Ashton O’Hara, 25, Detroit, July 14

Kandis Capri, 35, Phoenix, August 11

Elisha Walker, 25, Smithfield NC, date of death unknown

Yesterday, August 14, 2015 will go down in the history of our US trans community and our trans rights movement as a very tough day for us. We had announcements of two more trans younglings in Detroit murdered in Amber Monroe and Ashton O’Hara. We had in North Carolina the announcement that the remains of Angel Elisha Walker had been found after she disappeared 10 months ago. And we are also trying to confirm the death of Kandis Capri in Phoenix.

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We are in a human rights war we didn’t start, but have no choice but to fight it and win. At stake is our humanity and our human rights, and like all wars, unfortunately there are causalities.