Tyra Trent, a transgender Baltimore woman, was discovered dead on Saturday in the basement of a vacant home in Northwest Baltimore. Autopsy results show she was asphyxiated.
It took two days to confirm Trent's identity and notify family. Trent had been reported missing two weeks earlier, after leaving home late at night on a Sunday and never returning. Trent had been known to leave for a few days at a time, but always kept in touch with her mother, Sundra. Not this time.
Trent worked as a prostitute, according to the paper, and told family she was often attacked for the way she looked.
Sandy Rawls, director of Trans-United, which provides outreach for members of the transgender community, said she had been working with Trent, who was in the process of formally changing her name and working to obtain a GED.
"The whole transgender community is at risk," Rawls said. "We don't have the economical foundation set up for us as transgender people. We can't go into jobs without being discriminated against, and it's really hard for individuals to be themselves and have a way of living. Sometimes they end up doing wild things to survive, and they end up" in dangerous situations.
Trent's family told the paper she always had a place to stay: "Relatives were gathered at the Trent family home Tuesday night, where they remembered Trent as a vibrant person who liked to dance, loved animals and loved to style hair. She worked with people with disabilities, they said."
City homicide detectives are investigating.
Transgender Woman Struggled for Acceptance [baltimore sun]
