Suspects have been identified and indicted in two separate murders of transgender women that took place last week.
An arrest warrant has been issued in the murder of Dominique ‘Rem'mie' Fells in Philadelphia, and a suspect was indicted for murder, two counts of felonious assault and two counts of aggravated robbery in the fatal shooting of Riah Milton in Liberty Township, Ohio.
ABC7 reports: “The warrant was issued for Akhenaton Jones, 36, who is a male acquaintance of the victim, 27-year-old Dominique “Rem'mie” Fells. Fells was found June 15 near Bartram's Garden with stab wounds and both of her legs were severed. Some close to Fells told ABC7 Eyewitness News' Philadelphia sister station WPVI off-camera that, in the days before her murder, she was seen fighting with a male acquaintance. Police have not released any details about the investigation, including if they think this was a hate crime.”
With regard to Riah Milton's murder, FOX19 reports on the indictment of Kaleb Tooson: “Tooson and a 14-year-old girl, were arrested Tuesday night, and a third suspect, a 25-year-old Cincinnati man, remains at large. The suspects lured the victim, Riah Milton, 25, of Cincinnati to Liberty Township to steal Milton's vehicle and other belongings after meeting the victim online, sheriff's officials said. A fight ensued during the robbery, and it ended with Milton being shot twice including once in the head, the sheriff said during a news conference last week. The suspects fled, sheriff's officials say, leaving Milton's body behind as they stole the vehicle.”
“Black Trans Lives Matter,” said Tori Cooper, HRC's director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, in a statement last week. “In the same week countless people across the globe stand up for racial injustice, in the same week we honor the 49 victims of the Pulse massacre in Orlando, in the same week a billionaire author spouts transphobic rhetoric to millions — in this same week, we have lost two more Black transgender women to the same fate most of us worry about every day. Say their names. Dominique ‘Rem'mie' Fells. Dominique ‘Rem'mie' Fells. Dominique ‘Rem'mie' Fells. Riah Milton. Riah Milton. Riah Milton. Continue to say the names of every transgender and gender non-conforming person stolen from this Earth. Don't wait until we are all gone to speak up. This fight belongs to us all.”
