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Alabama Woman Is First Trans Murder Victim of 2019

Crime scene

Dana Martin, 31, was found shot to death in her car.

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Dana Martin, shot to death Sunday in Montgomery, Ala., is the first transgender homicide victim of 2019.

Police found Martin, 31, in a vehicle in a roadside ditch about 11 p.m. Sunday, the Montgomery Advertiser reports. The newspaper did not mention her gender, and some other media outlets misgendered her, but local activists told The Advocate she was an African-American trans woman. She lived in Hope Hull, an unincorporated area near Montgomery.

Her identity was confirmed by Meta Ellis and Harvey McDaniel, director and educational outreach director, respectively, of Montgomery Pride United and cofounders of the Bayard Rustin Community Center. They have been in touch with police about the case and about the importance of using proper identifiers for trans people, they said. They have also contacted Martin's friends and intend to reach out to her family.

Martin was apparently shot while driving her car, the activists said. Police have no leads but are continuing to investigate.

At least 24 trans people were murdered in the U.S. in 2018, most of them women of color. The figure for 2017 was 27, tying it with 2016 as the deadliest year on record for transgender Americans. The number for any given year is undoubtably higher, given that some victims are misgendered by police or media, or their deaths not reported at all.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.