Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Her name was Zoella Rose Martinez, she also went by Zo Zo or Zoey. She was 20-years-old. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, she was a Latina trans woman who had her whole life before her. And while her death was not reported at the time, her family confirmed her identity recently to a local LGBTQIA+ organization.

Because her death was underreported and thus not included in the official death toll of trans, gender nonconforming, and nonbinary neighbors killed in the campaign of terror targeting them across the nation and around the world. Zoey’s death now raises that total to 41 so far.

Zoey met with the man who murdered her because she believed he had stolen $1000 from her bank account. She arranged with a friend to meet her a the rendezvous point. And she still ended up dead. From the Seattle Times.

Jacaree Rashad Hardy is accused of fatally shooting Zoella Martinez, 20, around 8:45 p.m. Aug. 31 and leaving her body hours later on the north side of Seattle Fire Station 21, in the 7300 block of Greenwood Avenue North, according to the charges.

They caught the son of a bitch who killed her, presumably over $1000 at this point.

Martinez’s friend was late arriving and when she and her boyfriend pulled into the lot, they could see Martinez seated inside a car parked next to Martinez’s vehicle. The driver of the other car sped out of the lot and the friend attempted to follow, but with the other driver hitting speeds of 100 mph, the friend lost sight of the vehicle, the charges say.

When Martinez didn’t return to the lot to retrieve her vehicle, her friend reported her missing to the King County Sheriff’s Office just before 11 p.m. on Aug. 31.

Around 5 a.m. the next day, a man flagged down a Seattle police officer and directed the officer to a woman’s body in the alley next to Fire Station 21. The woman did not have a cellphone, identification or any other property on her, the charges say.

As news of an unidentified homicide victim spread, sheriff’s detectives contacted Seattle police detectives and quickly connected the missing person case with the homicide investigation.

Five bullets were recovered from Martinez’s body during an autopsy and her wounds were to the left side of her upper torso, indicating she’d been shot by someone to her left, say the charges. She also had burns consistent with being shot at close range.

Zoey’s family arranged a vigil and funeral in mid-September, then offered a reward for the arrest of her killer. A month later, he’s arrested and facing second degree homicide charges along with other.

Zoey’s social media feeds are filled with joy, curiosity, and generosity. Her birthday this past spring was tied to a fundraiser. She repeatedly encouraged her mother in her struggle with COVID-19. Her death is felt so deeply by her family and friends, it is just heartbreaking. They loved her so much. It was her family that released information that she was a young trans woman.

Zoey is the forty-first trans, nonbinary or gender nonconforming person reported killed in 2021. Thirty-eight of these neighbors have been BIPOC.. 28 of these victims were under the age of 30. That we know of, as many deaths go unreported or unacknowledged. In the first 284 days of 2021, there has been a murder every 6.9 days on average.

Rest in power, Zoey. You deserved so much more from this world – I’m so grateful you had your family and friends, but grieve the years you didn’t get to live. You took precautions, you tried to take care of yourself, you deserved to not be robbed, to not confront someone, to simply live your life without being victimized repeatedly. You deserved to soar in this life. I am so sorry we let you down.

May your memory be a revolution.