Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Her name was Skyler Gilmore.

The Crime

On June 24, 2021, a 25 year old Black trans woman was murdered in Stone Mountain, Georgia. The two men responsible were found guilty of murder and related charges. One is in custody, the other on the run. With all those charges, he was released on bond during the trial and he’s now at large.

What’s unclear is how her death went unacknowledged by the LGBTQ community until after the trail. In fact, the news about the conviction and the escapee is what made the news.

It is also unclear when one of her killers actually jumped bail and took off, allegedly for California. Those seem like important details to share versus telling he fled sometime after her February 2023 release and the October verdict.

Police in Georgia are looking for a man who was convicted of murdering a transgender woman in 2021 but fled during his trial, the DeKalb County District Attorney said in a press release. Prosecutors warned against contact with Fore, saying he is dangerous. They also reported he has contacts in California. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should immediately contact the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Unit at (404) 298-8132.

Davonte Fore, 26, and JaQuan Brooks, 25, were found guilty by a jury on October 4 of the murder of Skyler Gilmore, 25, that took place in Stone Mountain on June 4, 2021. Both men were found guilty of Malice Murder, two counts of Felony Murder, Aggravated Assault, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of a Firearm during the Commission of a Felony.

The two men, both gang members, were acting on orders from their gang to kill Gilmore because she was in a sexual relationship with a fellow gang member.

I haven’t found any details about who gave that order, what happened to the other person in that relationship, or a description of Skyler’s final moments. We know a friend found her, presumably still alive and hopefully that was a comfort in a horrific situation.

“The woman who called 911 to report the shooting was on scene and spoke with police. She said she was a friend of Gilmore’s and had been on the phone with her just before the shooting,” DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston said in the press release. “The woman said Gilmore told her she needed to hang up because she was getting a call from the front gate of the apartment complex. Gilmore then called her friend back and said she had been shot. The friend rushed to Gilmore’s apartment to try to help and dialed 911.” This is according to reporting from The Georgia Voice.

I read these details over and over in multiple outlets, searching for any sort of context.

Honoring Skyler

Her name was Skyler Gilmore. She was a 25 year old Black trans woman.

Skyler was born and raised in Daytona Beach, Florida, relocating to Stone Mountain in 2020. Her social media profiles suggest she was interested in fashion, shopping, and music. A month before her death, Skyler posted photos from a family gathering honoring an elder, the sort of thing any of us might do. She joked around with her friends and posted about potentially moving home to Florida soon. This was in May 2021.

She posted this summary of that trip, signing off ‘Until Next Time’ … a heartbreaking reminder that there would not be a future time together as a family.

She was also very proud of successfully living on her own in her first apartment, preparing to renew the lease.

Skyler’s life adds up to more than an “unfortunate sex worker” whose murderer got released on bond and then fled. She was our neighbor. She was in a relationship with a man that his fellow gang members found offensive, so they put a hit out on her. They didn’t hold him accountable, they killed her. I can’t wrap my mind around that story, nor the part that goes “and the LGBTQ community didn’t even notice.”

Context

Would more eyes on the trial have prevented the judge from issuing the release on bail decision? Maybe. Would it have meant more celebration of Skyler and the chance to learn about her life? Would it have comforted her friends, family, and other trans folx? Seemingly.

I keep returning to the fact that Skyler allegedly engaged in survival sex contrasted to her being in a relationship with a member of a gang. Those are two different things. They could be related, but that’s not been explored anywhere. My history documenting this epidemic of anti-trans violence suggests that someone killed because they are in a relationship is typically going to get more sympathetic reactions than a victim who was a sex worker. There’s an often unspoken hierarchy of deservingness or worth we assign to victims, especially women.

Again, we don’t know if her relationship with this other gang member could be characterized as survival sex. Or if she engaged in survival sex work outside of that relationship. If she chose sex work or was forced into it.

Also, what about the other party in that relationship?

Skyler was a young Black trans woman in the South assassinated in cold blood for having a relationship as a trans woman. She engaged in sex work. Her race, location, and source of income may explain how she was lost in the shuffle. If she had been a young white woman or had not been a sex worker …. contrast the response to her death (none) to the coverage of young white folx, both trans and cisgender. I’m not saying anything new.

Skyler is the 38th trans person whose death has been reported in 2024. Reported means the death may have been earlier or that we do not have all of the details. You may notice in my list later in this post that I try to make some distinctions. As of this post, I have now identified 31 individuals who were killed this year and plus seven (including Skyler) individuals whose deaths became known to us this year.

I know this is confusing. Death cannot be neatly contained in data and reporting, but it is essential that we try to describe this epidemic of violence with every possible tool.

Among the 38 deaths reported in 2024 to date, 30 have been BIPOC, six white, and two of unknown heritage or ethnicity. As of this post, a trans person’s violent murder has been reported in the US every 10 days this year.

Skyler is the fourth trans person in Georgia whose death has been reported in 2024. Others were: 2024  San Colman, Righteous Torrence ‘T K’ Chevy Hill, Shannon Boswell  Our records show at least 18 different trans people have been killed in Georgia since 2017, all of them people of color – Black, Latinx, and Asian-American.

2023 Tortuguita, Ashley Burton, and Rasheeda Williams; 2022 Kathryn Newhouse, Keshia Chanel Geter; 2021 SkylerGilmore, Bianca ‘Muffin’ Bankz, Sophie Vasquez, and Serenity Hollis; 2020 Felycya Harris, 2018 Nino Fortson 2017 Tee Tee Dangerfield Ava Le’Ray Barrin and Candace Towns.

Tomorrow is the Trans Day of Remembrance. One last entry the day before is almost bewildering, but now she is known to all of us.

Rest in power, Skyler. You deserve to have your life celebrated and your violent death acknowledged. I am so very sorry we did not create a safer world for you to live in, nor did we properly acknowledge your death and ensure justice. Two convictions will keep other trans women safer, but our silence will not. We can now honor you by examining these events.

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 anti-trans 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, Las Vegas, 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.
24. Dylan Gurley – July 24, 2024. Denton, Texas. Age 20.
25. Tai Lathan – August 4, 2024. Baltimore, Maryland. Age 24.
26. Vanity Williams – August 3, 2024. Houston, Texas. Age 34.
27. Redd ‘Barbie’ Joseph – September 8, 2024. Chicago, Illinois. Age 25.
28. Kassim Omar – September 6, 2024. Columbus, Ohio. Age 29.
29. Honee Daniels – October 3, 2024. Rochester, New York. Age 37
30. San Coleman – October 19, 2024. Athens, Georgia. Age 48.
31. Quanesha Shantel – November 11, 2024. Greensboro, North Carolina. Age 26.

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

• Skyler Gilmore – June 2021, Stone Mountain, Georgia. Age 25. Murdered in 2021, reported in 2024.
• 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 15,