When will it end?
The other day we told you how Shade Schuler, whose badly decomposed body was found in a vacant field in Dallas, was the 13th transgender person known to have been murdered this year, eclipsing the total from all of 2014.
Since then, three additional murders of transgender women have been reported, bringing the 2015 total to a horrifying 16 — including five whose deaths were first reported in the last week. Of the 16 victims, 14 were transgender women of color, and most have been under 30.
Ashton O’Hara, 25, of Detroit (right), was found brutally murdered in a field on July 17. Equality Michigan reports:
Ashton knew exactly who he was even as young as 2 years old. He once said to his mom, “Mama, you are so pretty, I want to be just like you when I grow up.” By all accounts, Ashton was full of love for his family and friends, and lived life on his terms. He loved kids, he loved to dance, perform at the clubs, and he loved doing hair (he taught himself how to braid extensions at the age of 4!). He was so good that he could “turn a frog into a princess,” according to Rebecca. Sadly, even though Ashton had so much love in his life, he often felt alone, and that no one really loved him. “Maybe the kind of love he was searching for was to love himself,” Rebecca said. Ashton’s mom, Rebecca, held a candlelight vigil for her son upon finding out the news, and was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support by friends and family at the funeral on July 20. Her one request of those in attendance was to wear bright colors, “because my son lived.”
Candis Kapri (right), reportedly was murdered after trying to intervene in a domestic dispute in Phoenix. From The Rainbow Hub:
Facebook user Beverly Spencer posted “RIP Kandis Capri you will be missed!” at 9:50am yesterday. While on August 12th, Shan Price wrote, “My whole day just got messed up. I can’t believe this my heart is broken…RIP Kandis Capri love you always.”
Others on Facebook were posting similar messages regarding the loss of Kandis Capri; friends appeared to be devastated by her death. Pictures appear to show Capri as someone who enjoyed spending time with others and going out.
Angel Elishah Walker (above), 20, went missing in October. Her remains were found in a crude grave Thursday in Smithfield, North Carolina. Q Notes reports:
Walker’s remains were found Thursday after law enforcement officials searched property outside Smithfield, N.C. Walker was found buried in the woods behind a house.
Angel Arias — a known member of the Latin Kings street gang, law enforcement said — was arrested and charged with murder and felony larceny of a motor vehicle. He is behind held without bond in Johnston County jail and awaiting return to Rowan County.
Below are the 13 previously reported murders of transgender women this year, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs:
• Papi Edwards, a black transgender woman, was shot to death at the Fern Valley Motel on January 9th, 2015. An alleged suspect, Henry Richard Gleaves, has been arrested and charged with her murder.
• Lamia Beard, a black transgender woman, was found shot to death on January 17th in Norfolk, Virginia.
• Ty Underwood, a black transgender woman, was found shot to death early Monday morning on January 26th, after a woman called 911 to say a car had hit a telephone pole and that her children had heard gunshots. Her loved ones are speaking out, saying that they believe this was a hate crime.
• Yazmin Vash Payne, a black transgender woman, was discovered fatally stabbed to death on Saturday, January 31st at the scene of a house fire in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles. Payne’s boyfriend, Ezekiel Dear, has been arrested and booked for suspicion of murder in connection with her death.
• Taja Gabrielle de Jesus, a latin@ transgender woman, was discovered stabbed to death on a stairwell in San Francisco’s Bayview District on Sunday, February 1st.
• Penny Proud, a black transgender woman, was found fatally shot on February 10th at the cross section of Ursulines Avenue and North Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Kristina Gomez Reinwald, a latin@ transgender woman, was found unresponsive in her home on February 15, 2015 and her death is being investigated as a homicide.
• London Chanel, A black transgender woman stabbed to death in Philadelphia on Monday, May 8th, she was stabbed by her roommate’s boyfriend in North Philadelphia.
• Mercedes Williamson, transgender woman, was found stabbed to dead and buried in a wooded field in George County, Mississippi on Saturday, May 30th. Josh Brandon Vallum, who reportedly told his father about committing the homicide, has been arrested.
• India Clarke, a black transgender woman who was found beaten to death on Tuesday, July 21st in a park area of the University Area Community Center in Tampa, Florida.
• K.C. Haggard, a transgender woman was stabbed to death in the street by an individual in a car in front of multiple witnesses in Fresno, California on July 23rd.
• Amber Monroe, a black transgender woman, who was shot to death in Detroit, Michigan on August 8th.
• Ms. Shade Schuler, a black transgender woman killed in Dallas, Texas on July 29th.
