Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Her name was Keyonna. She was 22.

Another brutal loss as we learn that 22 year old Keyonna Monroe Blakeney, a Washington DC resident, was found dead with sever upper body trauma in a Rockville Maryland hotel room. Keyonna was murdered on Saturday April 16.

From the Washington Blade

The victim, who identified herself on her Facebook page as Keyonna Monroe Blakeney, was found to have suffered trauma to her upper body by fire and rescue personnel and officers with the Rockville City Police, who were called to the scene by the hotel, according to a statement by Montgomery County police.

The statement says the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has ruled the death as a homicide.

“Investigators believe that Keyonna was assaulted and killed in her hotel room in the early morning hours of Saturday, April 16,” the statement says. “Detectives have information that Keyonna may have been engaging in prostitution at the Red Roof Inn at that time,” the statement says.

According to her Facebook page, Keyonna was a makeup artist for MAC cosmetics and studied at Bowie State University. She was originally from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

And we have one mutual Facebook friend. That stopped me in my tracks. It is more than one degree of separation. I lived in Washington DC. I’ve been to Rockville, Maryland many times. I work with a cosmetics company. Suddenly, I can think of a million connections between my life and Keyonna, things beyond our shared identity under the LGBTQ umbrella. But it is the distinctions between – she a 22 year old black trans woman and me a 45 year old white cis lesbian that need to be emphasizes because of the epidemic of violence against trans women in our nation.

Anyone who may have information regarding the murder of Keyonna, please contact the Major Crimes Division at 240-773-5070. For those who wish to remain anonymous, Crime Solvers of Montgomery County is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for any information that leads to the arrest of the suspect(s). Crime Solvers can be reached at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Keyonna deserves many things – to have her name used, to be gendered correctly in the investigation of her murder, to have those who took her life held accountable, and to be remembered for being more than a statistic in a terrible pattern that plagues our community.  Rest in Power, Keyonna, as those of us here continue to work for a world that’s more just and equitable. We’ll continue to say your name and seek justice for you.

I will update as more information becomes available.

So we don’t forget those whom we’ve lost to these epidemics in 2016

• Monica Loera – Austin, Texas (January 22)
• Jasmine Sierra – Bakersfield, California (January 22)
• Kayden Clarke –  Mesa, Arizona (February 4)
• Maya Young – Philadelphia (February 20)
• Suspicious death of Veronica Cano – San Antonio (February 20)
• Demarkis Stansberry – Baton Rouge (February 27)
• Kedarie/Kandicee Johnson – Burlington, Iowa (March 2)
• Quartney Davia Dawsonn-Yochum (Kourtney Yochum) – Los Angeles (March 22)
• Shante Thompson – Houston (April 9)
• Keyonna Monroe Blackeney – Rockville, MD (April 16)