Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Another tragic story to share in the unrelenting slaughter of our trans siblings. 26 year old Skye Mockabee of Cleveland is the latest victim. Skye’s body was found early Saturday morning in a Cleveland parking lot.

The owner of Ecclesiastic Granite Fab found Skye Mockabee, 26, dead about 8 a.m. in the parking lot his business on West 130th Street in the city’s Puritas-Longmead neighborhood.

Mockabee was lying face down next to a tow truck. She was bleeding from the mouth, according to a police report.

Cleveland EMS and firefighters got to the scene and said Mockabee’s injuries were suspicious. She was pronounced dead about 8:30 a.m., the report says. 

According to her Facebook profile, Skye worked at Chipotle and had studied at South University in Savannah, Georgia. Cleveland was her hometown. Her friends are filling her timeline with love, sorrow and grief over her murder. She was loved, that much is clear.

If you have information about Skye’s death, please contact the police at 216.623.5464.

Compounding the tragedy, Skye was misgendered by both law enforcement and the media in their initial reporting after her body was found. This ongoing problem delays justice, delays the apprehension of the suspects and delays community safety. It is beyond exhausting to watch the police and media consistently and stubbornly repeat this pattern with little willingess to change. If those charged with bringing justice to victims refuse to acknowledge the humanity of trans neighbors, is it really any wonder that this murderous trend continues?

Skye is at least the 17th trans person to be murdered in 2016 in the United States. Just last week, we reported on the murder of Dee Whigham in Mississippi.

Skye is also the fourth trans woman to be murdered in the Cleveland area in the past four years – Brittany Stergis, 22, and Betty Skinner, 52, were murdered in 2013. Cemia Dove, 20, was murdered in 2012 and her body thrown into a pond, tied by a chair to a piece of concrete. Betty’s death remains unsolved even though she was bed ridden due to her disability. I continue to be puzzled by the inability to solve a crime involving someone helpless in bed with no one else living in the residence.

It is worth noting that last year, August lay claim to the deadliest period in recent history with six different trans women reported murdered in a ten day period. 

Rest in power, Skye. Your life was extinguished far too soon. We will continue to advocate for justice for you and for all of our siblings who experience violence.

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)
• Reecey Walker – Wichita (May 1)
• Mercedes Successful – Haines City, FL (May 15)
• Amos Beede (Burrlington, VT), 38 years old
• Goddess Diamond (New Orleans, LA), 20 years old
• Dee Dee Dodds (Washington D.C.), 22 years old
• Dee Whigham (Biloxi, Mississippi), 25 years old
• Skye Mockabee – Cleveland (July 30) 26 years old