Black transgender woman shot to death in Virginia misgendered in police & press reports

The killing of a Black transgender woman in Virginia earlier this month did not, at first, register as such.

When police in Petersburg responded to a report of a shooting just before 2 a.m. on March 13, they found a person dead inside a home on Elm Street. In the hours that followed, authorities misgendered the deceased, an error repeated across several local news reports, including coverage by the Progress-Index and Richmond television stations WRIC, an ABC affiliate, and WWBT, an NBC affiliate.

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The victim was Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-McCray, a 42-year-old Black transgender woman, drag performer, and community figure with deep ties to LGBTQ+ spaces across Virginia and North Carolina. Friends and fellow performers recognized her quickly, even as official accounts lagged behind.

The gap between those early reports and her identification reflects a broader pattern, advocates say. When transgender victims are misgendered in initial police statements, those errors are often amplified by the press, delaying recognition and, in some cases, distorting the historical record.

Sanchez-McCray, who was also known as Mabel to loved ones, according to PGH Lesbian Correspondents, was found with multiple gunshot wounds and pronounced dead at the scene. Police have released few additional details, and no suspect information has been made public. As of this week, authorities had not indicated whether they have updated her identity or are considering a possible bias motive.

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Petersburg, a historically Black, Democratic-leaning city about 25 miles south of Richmond and roughly two hours from Washington, D.C., sits within a region where LGBTQ+ communities are both visible and, at times, vulnerable.

Advocates who track anti-trans violence say Sanchez-McCray appears to be the first known transgender person killed in the United States in 2026.

The Advocate recently highlighted the deeper concerns about how such deaths are classified. Advocates say the same failures that lead to misgendering in early reports can also shape how cases are investigated and recorded, sometimes obscuring evidence of violence. Researchers reviewing cases across the South have found what they describe as a pattern of misclassification, with some deaths of Black transgender women often ruled suicides despite evidence that communities say points to violence. Jill Collen Jefferson, founder of the social justice organization JULIAN, has argued that these cases, taken together, amount to “modern-day lynchings.”

Within her community, Sanchez-McCray’s presence was well established. She was a frequent competitor in drag pageants, winning Miss Mayflower EOY in 2015, according to the pageant archive Our Community Roots, and later earning the title of Miss Charlotte FFI at Large in 2020, Them reports.

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Two days before her death, she posted a short message on Facebook, writing, “Joy comes in the morning.”

Friends have also begun sharing older messages they say reflect her care for those around her. In one message from 2022, shared on social media after her death, Sanchez-McCray wrote, “Just wanted to leave you with some love in the case I don’t make it to see tomorrow. I love you and proud of you… always remain true to who you are.”

Sanchez-McCray’s funeral is scheduled for Friday in Petersburg.