Trans woman Darri Moore found dead in Missouri and family and friends want answers

The body of Darri Moore, a 23-year-old Black transgender woman from St. Louis, was found May 1 near a quarry along the Mississippi River in St. Genevieve, Mo., 60 miles away.

News reports haven’t stated how long Moore had been missing, but her body was so badly decomposed that the cause of her death couldn’t be determined, according to TV station KMOV. She was found by employees at the quarry, Tower Rock Stone.

Police said they believe her death wasn’t due to foul play, but her family and friends want further investigation. They say it wasn’t suicide.

“She was not by herself. She loved herself too much to walk out on that river,” Moore’s friend Izzy Baker told KMOV.

“Somebody knows and they’re not telling us. I just pray and hope that someone comes forward to tell us what happened,” she added.

More than a dozen trans Americans are known to have died by violence this year, and there are undoubtedly many more whose deaths have gone unreported or misreported due to deadnaming and misgendering. In any given year, most of the victims are Black women.

Moore’s family members have set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with funeral expenses; the campaign page unfortunately misgenders and deadnames her.

Anyone with information that will aid the investigation is asked to call the St. Genevieve County Sheriff’s Office at (573) 883-5820 or offer an anonymous tip through CrimeStoppers at (866) 371-8477.

“She has a story, and I want her story to be heard,” Baker concluded.