What's Hot

The Blogtransgender day of remembrancetransTransgender

Transgender Day of Remembrance 2014: A Reporter's List

This is by no means a complete list. Most transgender deaths are unreported or lost due to misgendering. I should also point out that not everyone agrees on which types of deaths ought to be included in such lists. I've included domestic violence and suspicious deaths but excluded suicide.
By 

Transgender actress, advocate, and writer; star, 'Lexie Cannes'

Transgender actress, advocate, and writer; star, 'Lexie Cannes'
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.
burning red candle with black...
burning red candle with black...

I did this for the first time two years ago. The 20-odd transgender deaths that passed my desk during 2012 were compiled into a post presenting the victims' names and how they'd died in order to convey the importance of observing the Transgender Day of Remembrance on Nov. 20. I did the same for 2013. I'm doing it again now for 2014.

This is by no means a complete list. Most transgender deaths are unreported or lost due to misgendering. I should also point out that not everyone agrees on which types of deaths ought to be included in such lists. I've included domestic violence and suspicious deaths but excluded suicide. I'm starting with the most recent death and working my way back to November 2013:

  • Gypsie Gül: Found dead in her home by relatives in Istanbul, Turkey.

  • Mary Joy Añonuevo: Stabbed to death in her place of business in Lucena, Philippines.

  • Michelle Sherman (aka TajShon, Ashley): Found by police near an Indianapolis, Indiana, condo complex with brutal head wounds.

  • Keeta Bakhsh: Died after being released from a hospital following a beating while in police custody in the Bahawalpur District of Pakistan. The police suspended one officer and promised an investigation.

  • Jennifer Laude: Found with her head in a toilet bowl in Olongapo, Philippines. A U.S. Marine, Scott Pemberton, is being held on suspicion of involvement in the victim's death.

  • Gull dos Santos: Was shot in the face three times while walking down a busy street in Brazil. Two men rode off on a motorcycle.

  • Mayang Prasetyo: Found dismembered in her apartment in Brisbane, Australia. Her husband, Marcus Volke, fled the scene and was later found dead after committing suicide.

  • Aniya Parker: Shot in the head on a Los Angeles-area street after running away from a group of men and died later at a hospital. There is surveillance video footage of the shooting, but no suspects have been identified.

  • Gabriel Mario Duque: Stoned to death by attackers in Colombia.

  • Alejandra Leos: Shot to death near her home in Memphis, Tennessee. A suspect, Marshall Pegues, was quickly arrested and charged with murder.

  • Lele: Found dead, wrapped in a sheet, lying next to a roadside on the island of Roatán just off the Honduran coast. The victim was deaf. Two suspects were initially arrested but later released.

  • Mia Henderson: Found by police brutally killed in a Baltimore, Maryland, alley. The victim was the sister of NBA player Reggie Bullock.

  • Yaz'min Shancez: Found burned to death in Ft. Meyers, Florida. Police later arrested Terry Lynn Brady and charged him with the crime.

  • Tiffany Edwards: Gunned down in the middle of the street Cincinnati, Ohio. She was found by a sanitation worker. Quamar Edwards (no relation) turned himself in after an arrest warrant was issued.

  • Zoraida Reyes: Found in a parking lot in Santa Ana, California. A few months later Randy Lee Parkerson was charged with felony murder.

  • Kandy Hall: Found brutally murdered in a field in Baltimore, Maryland.

  • Çağla Joker: Gunned down by assailants in Istanbul, Turkey. Two suspects were arrested.

  • Sevda Başar: Found buried in the vineyard of her boyfriend's place of employ near Antep, Turkey, dead from a gunshot wound to the chest. Ethem Orhan has admitted to the police that he killed Başar.

  • Prince Joe: Stabbed to death in Belize after being held up at knife point and giving the attackers everything they wanted. Video of the robbery has not led to identifying suspects.

  • Rosa (aka Rose, Dido): Found dead from blunt head trauma in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The victim was Indonesian and in Canada on a work visa. Marcel Cristian Niculae was arrested and charged with murder.

  • Curtis Lipscomb: Found shot and burned beyond recognition in a trash can in Detroit, Michigan.

  • Brittany Stergis: Found in her car, shot in the head, in Cleveland, Ohio.

  • Betty Skinner: Disabled and a resident of a senior apartment center in Cleveland, Ohio, she was found dead in her bed with head injuries.

  • Jacqui Cowdrey: Found dead in her home in Worthing, a town along the south coast of England.

    • Transgender Day of Remembrance is Nov. 20.

    Feel free to share your comments or new facts on any of the trans people on this list.

    My 2013 TDOR list

    My 2012 TDOR list

    Transgender actress, advocate, and writer; star, 'Lexie Cannes'

    Do you have info to share with HuffPost reporters? Here’s how.

    Go to Homepage

    Popular in the Community

    Close

    What's Hot