Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Ja’leyah-Jamar was 28 years old when she was killed on Friday, September 13 in Kansas City. She is the 19th transgender person to be murdered in the United States during 2019, to date. Ja’leyah is also the 18th Black trans woman on that list.

Misgendering and deadnaming have contributed to the delay in confirming Ja’leyah’s identity and the circumstances of her death.  We know that she was shot about 2:30 in the afternoon. Police have released photos of a male suspect wanted in connection with Ja’leyah-Jamar’s murder, including identifying information about his car. Anyone with information related to the homicide is asked to contact the Kansas City Police TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477). This suspect is believed to have been in a relationship with Ja’leyah.

A Kansas City native, Ja’leyah-Jamar was a graduate of Wyandotte High School and the parent of a 5-year-old daughter who is with other family members. While local trans activists and friends of Ja’leyah describe her as a trans woman, some of her family continue to misgender her in their interactions with the media and law enforcement.

Rest in power, Ja’leyah. Your life will be remember by those who love you and your death will not go unacknowledged. You deserved many years to raise your daughter and embrace all of the good things you earned.

My list of transgender neighbors lost during the calendar year 2019.

• Dana Martin – Montgomery, Alabama. January 6, 2019. Age: 31.
• Ashanti Carmon – Fairmount Heights, Maryland. March 30, 2019. Age: 27
• Claire Legato – Cleveland. May 14, 2019. Age: 21
• Muhlaysia Booker – Dallas. May 18, 2019. Age 23.
• Michelle Simone Tameka Washington – Philadelphia, May 19, 2019. Age 40.
• Paris Cameron – Detroit, May 25, 2019. Age 20.
• Chynal Lindsey – Dallas, June 1, 2019. Age 26.
• Chanel Scurlock – Lumberton, North Carolina, June 5, 2029. Age 23.
• Jazzaline Ware – Memphis, Tennessee, March 2019. Age 34. **
• Zoe Spears – Fairmount Heights, Maryland. June 14, 2019. Age 23
• Brooklyn Lindsey – Kansas City, June 25, 2019. Age 32
• Denali Berries Stuckey – Charleston, July 20, 2019. Age 29
• Kiki Fantroy – Miami, July 31, 2019. Age 21
• Pebbles LaDime ‘Dime’ Doe – Allendale, South Carolina, August 4, 2019. Age 24
• Jordan Cofer – Dayton, Ohio, August 4, 2019. Age 22.
• Tracy Single – Houston, Texas, July 30, 2019. Age 22.
• Bailey Reeves – Baltiore, Maryland, September 2, 2019. Age 17.
• Bee Love – Clewiston, Florida, September 6, 2019. Age 21.
• Ja’leyah-Jamar, Kansas City, September 13, 2019. Age 28.

** Jazzaline Ware’s body was discovered in her apartment in Memphis, Tennessee in March. Cause of death was originally death by suicide, but according to The Advocate, authorities are now investigating her death as a homicide.

*** The death of Keyiariah Quick on August 10, 2019 in Carthage, North Carolina has been called into question. We will continue to monitor those details. Keyiariah was 25.