Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

The Crime

On Friday, July 19, 2024, a Black trans woman was found shot near The Florida Mall on Friday around 3:50 a.m., and died in the hospital, according to Orange County deputies. Her name was Monique Brooks also known as Jade-Monique Thomas, Monique was 49 years old.

The more specific location was the 8200 block of South Orange Blossom Trail in Orlando, Florida.There is little information available. The Orange County deputies responded to reports of gunshot fire and found Monique. She was alive and they transported her to the hospital where she succumbed to her injuries.

That’s what we know officially. Her family says she was shot and killed in her car.

Anyone with information can call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477) or leave a tip online.

Honoring Monique

She was born in Winter Park, Florida and relocated to Maitland, Florida. She was a digital creator. According to her socials, she was highly regarded as a hair stylist among her friends.

Her sibling Lecia described her as fun-loving, brilliant and smart. Friends are posting endless photos of outings and adventures, including a recent Zumba class. Monique liked a lot of Black creator content in movies, television, and music. Each year, she devoted her birthday to different causes, including the National LGBTQ Task Force. Please note that some of the media coverage and family posts misgender and deadname Monique.

Monique’s was an active participant with Divas in Dialogue, a sisterhood for trans women of color empowering, building and strengthening each other.

Divas in Dialogue have been taking care of her homecoming expenses.

We are asking the community to come together to help us give Monique the service she deserves. The Black trans community faces so many challenges in life, and in times like these, we need to come together and support one another more than ever.

Please join us in honoring Monique’s memory and ensuring she receives a proper farewell. Any support, whether it be financial contributions, time, or simply spreading the word, is deeply appreciated.

Let’s unite and show that our community stands strong in the face of adversity.

Please donate to $Divasindialogue

I do not yet know if she’s been buried, under what name, using which pronouns, etc. But it is absoluteely clear this woman was loved by many people.

The Context

That we know of, Monique is the 28th trans person whose death has been reported in 2024.

She is the 19th trans woman, the 9th Black trans woman, and the 15th trans woman of color on our list. In total 20 out of the 25 individuals were BIPOC. As of this report, a trans person has been violently murdered in the US every 7 days this year. So far, three Black trans women have been killed in July alone.

Earlier this year, a 37-year-old Brazilian American trans woman Andrea Doria Dos Passos was killed in Miami. In 2023, Camdyn Rider, age 21; Alexa Sokova, age 30; and London Price, age26 were also killed. Other trans folx recently killed in Florida include Duval Princess , Nedra Sequence Moss, Semaj Billingslea, Tiffany Banks, Alexus “Kimmy” Braxton, Keri Washington , Royal Poetical Starz, and Jenny De Leon.

Florida is a dangerous place to be transgender. That’s not surprising information, but even I was taken aback by the media coverage. It was so sparse and lacking in detail. Was Monique alone? Did someone ride with her to the hospital? Did someone hold her hand while she died?

Was she treated well? Is her murder going to be robustly investigated? Just more and more questions.

Rest in power, Monique. Your friends are lifting up the joy and love you brought to the world. Your family is standing firm to seek justice in your name. Thank you for all that you gave to other women from your experiences and wisdom.

May your memory be a revolution.

This is Our List

This is our list of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming neighbors who have been victims of the campaign of terror in 2024. Please do not copy, modify, or share this list without attribution.

Things have grown so complicated that I have separated out the deaths dated to 2024 from those reported this year, but took place in another year.

1. Kitty Monroe – January 1, 2024. Phoenix, Arizona. Age 43.
2. Nex Benedict – February 8, 2024. Owasso, Oklahoma. Age 16.
3. Righteous Torrence ‘T K’ Chevy Hill – February 29, Atlanta. Georgia. Age 35.
4. Reyna Hernandez – Between Feb 28 and March 28, location TBD. Age 54.
5. Diamond Cherish Brigman – March 16, 2024, Houston, Texas. Age 36.
6. Alex Franco – March 19, 2024. Salt Lake City, Utah. Age 21.
7. Meraxes Medina – March 19, 2024, Los Angeles, California. Age 24.
8. Cecilia Gentili – February 6, 2024, New YorkCity, New York. Age 52.
9. Lagend Billions aka Tee Arnold – April 7, 2024, Miami, Ohio. Age 36.
10. África Parrilla García – February 2, 2024, San Juan, Puerto Rico. Age 25.
11. Nevaeh ‘River’ Goddard – April 5, 2024,. Stow, Massachusetts. Age 17,
12. Andrea Doria Dos Passos – April 22, 2024, Miami, Florida. Age 37.
13. Sasha Williams – January 26, 2024, Las Vegas, Nevada. Age 36.
14. Kita Bee – May 3, 2024, Kansas City, Missouri. Age 46.
15. Starr Brown – April 19, Memphis, Tennessee. Age 28.
16. Jazlynn Johnson – May 6, 2024, Carson City, Nevada. Age 18.
17. Michelle Henry – May 15, 2024, San Francisco, California. Age 25.
18. Tayy Dior Thomas – May 7, 2024, Mobile, Alabama. Age 17
19. Pauly Likens – June 23, 2024, Sharon, Pennsylvania. Age 14
20. Shannon Boswell – July 2, 2024, Atlanta, Georgia. Age 30.
21. Liara Kaylee Tsai – June 22, 2024, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Age 35.
22. Kenji Spurgeon – July 1, 2024, Seattle, Washington. Age: 23
23. Monique Brooks – July 19, 2024. Orlando, Florida. Age 59.

Deaths reported in 2024 but took place in other years or need to be monitored for more information.

• Ryan Zimmerman – Sept 2015, Columbus OH Age 21 Murdered 2016, Identified 2020, reported 2024.
• Unknown Name – June 17, Denver, Colorado. Age unknown.
• Paris Rich Jessup – 13 June 2022, San Diego, California. Age 25.
• Kit Nelson-Mora, – 2021/2022 Washington State, 2022. Age 18.
• Niomi Jenkins – May 2024 San Francisco
• Morgan Moore – May 2022, Maryland. Age 17.