St. Louis police investigate transgender woman’s death as homicide after initially calling it suicide

St. Louis police are investigating the August shooting death of a transgender woman as a homicide after initially classifying it as an apparent suicide. Her mother challenged that finding.

Jhené Audrict, 21, was found dead on August 17 by a city worker between an abandoned house and a church with a gunshot wound to the back of her head, according to her mother, Melissa Crawford. Police initially treated her death as an apparent suicide, which Crawford questioned on social media. An autopsy later identified injuries “that could be inconsistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” according to KSDK. Police subsequently began investigating the death as a homicide.

Crawford told CBS affiliate KMOV that she had last spoken to her daughter on August 15, when Audrict was headed to her boyfriend’s house.

“She was kind of nervous about going to her boyfriend’s house because they were having issues,” Crawford said. The next day, Crawford said Audrict’s boyfriend called her to say Audrict was missing.

Related: Many alleged suicides of Black trans women are in fact modern-day lynchings, report finds

Crawford said she doubted the initial classification because of the circumstances in which her daughter was found.

“Jhené was legally blind. Unfortunately, when they did find Jhené, Jhené’s glasses were not located on her face. Jhené cannot see without her glasses,” Crawford said. “Literally, she can’t use a phone. She can’t go to the bathroom.”

Crawford said she was “proud” to be Audrict’s mother, describing her daughter as “very adventurous, a traveler, highly educated.”

“The resolution for me is to get justice for Jhené. Also, to advocate for the trans community. Awareness for domestic violence. And also advocating even for mental health,” Crawford said. “I will not rest. And I will not let this be swept underneath the rug. Jhené Cordelia Audrict will get justice.”

The questions surrounding Audrict’s death echo broader concerns advocates have raised about how authorities investigate and classify the deaths of transgender women.

In March, The Advocate reported on research by Jill Collen Jefferson, founder of the social justice organization JULIAN, that raised questions about how U.S. law enforcement agencies across the South classify the deaths of transgender women, including whether some cases ruled suicides warrant further investigation.

Related: Transgender people are being killed at an alarming rate, especially in the South

The report, “A Crimson Record: Seven State Modern-Day Lynching Report 2000–2025,” cataloged more than 150 deaths across Mississippi, Texas, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, Tennessee and Alabama. More than 50, or roughly one-third of the cases, involved transgender women.

Jefferson argues that the cases reflect the intersection of racism and transphobia, and that classifying killings as suicides can obscure violence and prevent accountability.

Jefferson draws a historical parallel to racial terror killings that authorities labeled suicides, shielding perpetrators from scrutiny.

“Back in the day, a lynching was called a suicide with a wink and a smile,” she said. “In the present day, they’re still called suicides. But now people take that seriously.”