Fourth Trans Woman of Color Murdered in June

In a dark end to the month of June, a fourth trans woman of color has been found murdered in the U.S. — this time shot to death.

Last Thursday, Tiffany Edwards — a 28-year-old transgender woman of color — was found shot to death in Walnut Hills, Ohio, a suburb of Cincinnati. Edwards’ death marks the fourth trans woman of color murdered this month, and the fourth trans woman murdered in Ohio since January 2013.

According to Monica Roberts atTransGriot, Cincinnati Police are in search of Quamar Edwards, a suspect in Tiffany Edwards’ murder. The suspect is 5’10”, weighs 250 pounds, and has a last known address on the 1000 Block of Winfield Ave. in Cincinnati.

As is often the case, reporting of Edwards’ murder featured a number of media missteps. Cincinnati's WKRC referred to Edwards by her former name, and called her “he.” In only a slight improvement, the outlet's website has since removed all pronouns, leaving awkward sentences that begin, “The person found dead…,” while the video retains the misgendering.

Earlier this month, Zoraida Reyes of California, Kandy Hall of Maryland, and Yaz’min Shancez of Florida were all found dead. In every case except Reyes’s, which has been listed as “suspicious,” local police have ruled these deaths homicides.

Trans women recently killed in Ohio include Cemia Dove, Betty Skinner, and Nicole Kidd-Stergis. Dove’s murderer was convicted last November and sentenced to life in prison, a suspect has been charged in the death of Kidd-Stergis, and at the moment, Skinner’s killer remains at-large.

 

 

It's a terrible thing when the news agencies can't even get the gender of the victim right...