Mesha Caldwell of Mississippi is First Reported Trans Woman Killed in 2017

Mesha Caldwell Mississippi

Mesha was 41 years old, worked as a beautician and stylist in her hometown of Canton, Mississippi. According to her Facebook profile, Mesha had been a student at Jackson State University. Her friends describe her as stylish and someone who looked good in anything she wore. Her body was discovered at 3:45 PM along a […]

Update in the Murder of Pittsburgh Lesbian Shanique Saunders

Shanique Saunders Pittsburgh Black Lesbian

First, a clarification – Shanique’s surname had been originally reported as Sanders. Today, I realized that the reporting was changed to Saunders. I confirmed that Saunders is the surname of her mother. I am very sorry for the error and am working to determine where the original information was sourced. I honestly don’t know how […]

23 Year Old Black Lesbian Stud is Murdered in Pittsburgh’s Knoxville Neighborhood UPDATED

Pittsburgh Stud Shanique Sanders

Her name was Shanique Sanders.

Pittsburgh Stud Shanique Sanders
Shanique Sanders via Facebook
She was 23 years old and a resident of Homestead. Wednesday afternoon, she became the latest fatality in the epidemic of violence when her body was found at 1:45 PM on McKinley Street in the Knoxville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. She had been shot at least one time when she was found and transported to UPMC Mercy where she later died.

Shanique used the name Loyalty Fashigg in social media and self-identified as a stud, according to local LGBT activist Amber Sloan who was a friend and mentor to Shanique. Amber told me that Shanique was born in Garfield, grew up in Homewood and was a graduate of Westinghouse High School.

Her Name Was Dalia Sabae

Dalia Sabae

Her name was Dalia Elhefny Sabae. She was 28 years old. She was born in Egypt, spent some time living in Moscow and has lived in the United States. According to her Facebook and LinkedIN pages, Dalia was fluent in three languages – American English · Français ·Arabic and proficient in three others – Hebrew, Spanish and Russian. Arabic was her native language. She was also bisexual, interested in both men and women.

Dalia was a dancer. She had been an instructor and worked various jobs as she pursued her education. She earned a pharmacy degree in 2011 and was working on a master’s program through Washington & Jefferson College near her home. Dalia was a pharmacy intern at the time of her death.

30 Year Old TWOC Noony Norwood of Richmond Murdered Over Weekend

30 year old Noony Norwood was shot to death in Richmond, Virginia on Saturday, November 5, 2016. She died of her injuries the next morning. She is remembered with love by her friends and chosen family. ‘Noony’s energy always brightened the room. She cared about her community and always lifted up and supported her friends […]

Black Trans Woman Brandi Bledsoe, 32, Murdered in Cleveland

Brandi Bledsoe

It is with great sadness and anger that I read about the murder of 32 year old black trans woman, Brandi Bledsoe. Her body was discovered over the weekend near her Cleveland home.

Brandi had a job, a passion for art and the support of at least some of her family. Yet, she did not escape the cycle of unrelenting violence against trans women. She also did not escape being misgendered by police or the media, the final indignity that weaves it’s tentacle into almost all of these stories of the lives of our trans neighbors.

From Cleveland.com (note – they use her old name)

Bledsoe was found dead about 10 a.m. in the driveway behind a home on Drexel Avenue, near East 108th Street. 

She was wearing only underwear and had white plastic bags covering her head and both hands, according to police reports.

A 5-year-old boy discovered her body while riding bikes with his 12-year-old brother.  

Police also said she had head trauma. Cleveland police spokesman Jennifer Ciaccia said investigators will take her transgender status into consideration in the investigation. She said the investigation is in its early stages and it’s too early to determine of motive for Bledsoe’s death. 

No arrests have been made in the case.

RIP Jazz Alford, Black Trans Woman Murdered in Alabama

Jazz Alford was 30 years old and a native of North Carolina. She was also a black trans woman discovered dead in a Birmingham, Alabama motel in late September. Alford was deliberately misgendered by police (and the media) as part of their investigation process.

Alford’s sister, Toya Milan, who is also a trans woman reached out to media to clarify Jazz’ true identity.

Police have arrested a 23-year-old man, Denzell Thomas for another shooting of a trans woman and he is now a suspect in the Alford case. The other victim survived and is hospitalized as she recovers from her injuries.

Guilty Verdict in the 2012 Assault & Shooting of Lesbian Couple in Texas

Kristene Chapa Mollie Olgin

Kristene Chapa, then 18, and girlfriend Mollie Olgin, then 19, stopped by a park on their way to see a movie on June 23, 2012. A horrifying encounter with a stranger ended with both young women sexually assaulted and shot, left for dead in that park. Olgin died of her injuries, but Kristene Chapa survived and took the stand to testify against David Strickland more than four years later.

It took the jury less than six hours to return a guilty verdict. Four years, 3 months and six hours after their horrible ordeal, there was finally some justice for Mollie and Kristene and, hopefully, some closure for Kristene.

TWOC Crystal Edmonds Murdered in Baltimore

Crystal Edmonds Trans

Crystal Edmonds, 32, a trans woman of color who lived in Baltimore died Friday from gunshot wounds to the back of her head. Crystal is the 21st known transgender person to be murdered in 2016 in the United States. She is also the third person whose death I’ve blogged about this week and the second […]

Maine Trans Woman Found Dead in Reservoir

Lexxi Sironen

On the heels of learning about the brutal murder of T.T. in Chicago this past weekend, I was saddened to read more tragic news on the Transgriot blog. 43 year old Lexxi Sironen’s body was found floating in the Kennebec River on September 6 at 8:15 AM EDT near the water reservoir of the Brookfield […]