Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

UPDATED

On the cusp of the 2021 Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR), Western Pennsylvania has lost a fourth trans person to the campaign of terror haunting the lives of our trans, nonbinary, and gendernonconforming neighbors.

Angel Naira, 36, was found dead from gunshot injuries in her Aliquippa home in Beaver County. Police responded to a 911 call seeking a welfare check for Angel.

“A female says a [person] is unresponsive. Not breathing. Said the apartment was broken into,” a 911 dispatcher said in audio obtained by KDKA. “The apartment was broken into. Some sort of disturbance there.”

Born in According to her brother, she worked for home health care full time, was a graduate from Aliquippa High School, and graduated from Beaver Falls Beauty Academy. Media reports – all misgendering and deadnaming her – report she was found with gunshot injuries. Online reports suggest she was physically beaten, but that’s unclear. Pennsylvania State Police are leading the investigations.

Once again, a victim’s loved ones have to add setting the record straight with media outlets and law enforcement who are universally reporting inaccurate information. There’s very little follow up reporting on her death, no information on the investigation, nothing. It is an almost deliberate erasure of Angel entirely. I expect so much more from Pittsburgh media.

Angel is the forty-seventh trans, nonbinary or gender nonconforming person reported killed in 2021. Forty-two of these neighbors have been BIPOC. She is the 32nd victim who identified as Black. 30 of these victims were under the age of 30. That we know of, as many deaths go unreported or unacknowledged. 2021 is now the most violent year on record for our trans neighbors in the United States, surpassing the previous total of 44 deaths in 2020.

Earlier this year, we lost two trans youth of color from nearby Ambridge, also in Beaver County. A few days prior, Chyna Carrillo was murdered in nearby New Brighton, Lawrence County. Pittsburgh has never been on this list since I began writing these posts in 2013, so skyrocketing to four deaths of trans BIPOC in one year is very difficult to understand.

In addition to the GoFundMe, SisTersPgh is contributing to the funeral expenses via the Aaliyah Johnson Fund.

Rest in power, Angel. Your friends and neighbors are pouring out their heartfelt grief over your death and sharing so many wonderful memories. You deserved the chance to create so many more memories. I am sorry that we failed you.

May your memory be a revolution.

UPDATE: The headline has been updated to reflect Aliquippa as Angel’s location.

Our list of transgender, gender, and non-binary neighbors lost to violence in 2021. Please do not copy or share this list without attribution.

1. Tyianna Davarea Alexandra — Chicago, Illinois. January 6, 2021. Age 28.
2. Samuel Edmund Damián Valentín — Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico. January 9, 2021. Age 21.
3. Dominique Jackson — Jackson, Mississippi. January 25, 2021. Age 30.
4. Bianca ‘Muffin’ Bankz — Atlanta, Georgia. January 21, 2021. Age 31.
5. Fifty Bandzzz — Baton Rouge, Louisiana. January 28, 2021. Age 21.
6. Alexus “Kimmy” Braxton — Miami, Florida. February 4, 2021. Age 45.
7. Chynaa Carrillo — New Wilmington, Pennsylvania. February 18, 2021. Age 24.
8. Jeffrey ‘JJ’ Bright — Ambridge, Pennsylvania. February 22, 2021. Age 16.
9. Jasmine Cannady — Ambridge, Pennsylvania. February 22, 2021. Age 22.
10. Jenna Franks — Jacksonville, North Carolina, February 24, 2021. Age 34. **
11. Diamond Nicole ‘Kyree’ Sanders — Cincinnati, Ohio. March 3, 2021. Age 23.
12. Rayanna Pardo — Los Angeles, California, March 17, 2021. Age 26. ***
13. Aidelen Evans — Port Arthur, Texas, March 2021. Age 24 ****
14. Dominique Lucious — Springfield, Missouri, April 8, 2021. Age 26.
15. Jaida Peterson — Charlotte, North Carolina, April 4, 2021. Age 29.
16. Remy Fennell — Charlotte, North Carolina, April 15, 2021. Age 28.
17. Tiara Banks — Chicago, Illinois, April 21, 2021. Age 26.
18. Natalia Smüt Lopez — San Jose, California, April 23, 2021. Age 24.
19. Tiffany Thomas — Dallas, Texas, April 21, 2021. Age 38.
20. Iris Santos — Houston, Texas, April 23, 2021. Age 22.
21. Jahaira M. DeAlto — Boston, Massachusetts, May 2, 2021. Age 42.
22. Keri Washington — Clearwater, Florida, May 1, 2021. Age 49.
23. Danny Henson — Baltimore, Maryland, May 4, 2021. Age 31.
24. Whispering Wind Bear Spirit — York, Pennsylvania, May 4, 2021 Age 41
25. Sophie Vasquez — Atlanta, Georgia, May 4, 2021. Age 36.
26. Serenity Hollis — Albany, Georgia, May 8, 2021. Age 24.
27. Oliver “Ollie” Taylor — Gervais, Oregon, May 19, 2021. Age 27.
28. Thomas Hardin — York, South Carolina, May 2, 2021. Age 35.
29. Poe Black / Oliver Jackson — Slab City, Niland, California, May 11, 2021 (estimated). Age 21.
30. EJ Boykin / Novaa Watson — Lynchburg, Virginia, May 14, 2021. Age 23.
31. Taya Ashton — Suitland, Maryland, July 17, 2021. Age 20.
32. Shai Vanderpump — Trenton, New Jersey, July 30, 2021. Age 23.
33. Tierramarie Lewis — Cleveland, Ohio, June 12, 2021. Age 30.
34. Miss CoCo — Dallas, Texas, August 7, 2021. Age 44.
35. Pooh Johnson — Shreveport, Louisiana, August 23, 2021. Age 25.
36. Disaya Monaee Smith — Dolton, Illinois, September 6, 2021. Age 32.
37. Brianna Ulmer Hamilton — Chicago, Illinois, September 17, 2021. Age 25.
38. Kier Laprice (Kartier) Solomon — Dallas, Texas, September 30, 2021. Age 21.
39. Royal Poetical Starz — Miami Gardens, Florida, October 2, 2021. Age 26.
40. Mel Robert Groves — Jackson, Mississippi, October 11, 2021. Age 25.
41. Zoella “Zoey” Rose Martinez – Seattle, Washington, August 31, 2021. Age 20.
42. Jo Acker– Boise, Idaho, October 25, 2021. Age 26.
43. Jessi Hart – Banks, Oregon, early October 2021. Age 42.
44. Rikkey Outumuro – Centralia, Washington, October 30 or 31, 2021. Age 39.
45. Marquiisha Lawrence – Greenville, South Carolina, November 5, 2021. Age 28.
46. Jenny De Leon – Tampa, Florida, November 2, 2021. Age 25.
47. Angel Naira – Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, November 11, 2021. Age 36.

We are also still monitoring these suspicious deaths from 20/21 (in addition to the 44 documented killings.)

Fendi Mon’ezah Armstrong — Lithonia, Georgia, November 11, 2020. Age 39

Kimberely Patricia Cope — Athens, Georgia, December 27, 2020. Age 40.

Natasha Keianna — Detroit, Michigan, January 12, 2021. Age 37.

Bonaire ‘Bonnie’ Black — Atlanta, Georgia, December 31, 2020. Age 19.

Koko Nia Labeija — Chicago, Illinois, Found June 2020, Identified April 2021, Age 19

Haven Bailey — Villa Park, Illinois, May 24, 2021. Age 25.