These Are the Trans People Lost to Violence in 2020

Violence against transgender Americans continues at epidemic proportions, and 2020 has become the deadliest year on record since The Advocate and activist groups began tracking homicides several years ago. There have been at least 44 homicides of trans and nonbinary people in the U.S. so far in 2020, surpassing the number (21) for all of 2019 and the previous record of 31 set in 2017, and most of the victims have been Black or Latinx women. The figures for any year probably represent undercounts, given that many trans people are misgendered in death by police or media, or their deaths not reported at all. Media Matters, for instance, reports that media outlets have misidentified two-thirds of trans homicide victims this year. But there does seem to be increased reporting of the deaths of transgender people. In a year that has put a focus on police violence, the issue has figured in the trans community as well; at least two of the victims whose stories are chronicled here were killed by police.

Since assembling this gallery, The Advocate has learned of the homicides of two more members of this community. Gender-nonconforming youth Jaheim Pugh Jaheim Barbie, 19, was shot to death at a Christmas party in Prichard, Ala., December 13, while trans woman Courtney "Eshay" Key was fatally shot December 25 in Chicago. Both were Black, and both of their families suspect they were killed because of their gender identity. The gallery will be updated soon.

Read about the others we've lost on the following pages.

Pictured, from left: Merci Mack, Tony McDade, and Brayla Stone

Dustin Parker, 25, of McAlester, Okla., was the first transgender American to die by violence in 2020, just hours after the year had begun. A taxi driver, he was found shot to death in his cab about 6:30 a.m. New Year's Day. Several gunshots had been fired at the cab. Parker, who leaves a wife, Regina, and four children, was a founding member of the McAlester chapter of Oklahomans for Equality, an LGBTQ+ rights group. The statewide organization posted a remembrance on its Facebook page, saying it lowered its transgender flag to “honor his memory and contributions to the LGBTQIA+ movement in Oklahoma."

Alexa Negrón Luciano, also known as Neulisa Luciano Ruiz and Alexa Ruiz, was shot to death in Toa Baja, Puerto Rico, February 24, about 12 hours after she was reported to police for using the women's restroom at a McDonald's. A video purporting to show the fatal attack was uploaded to YouTube; voices can be heard saying “We are going to shoot you up” and “You bet I am going to go and shoot him,” followed by the sound of at least 10 shots being fired. Police said they had arrested at least one suspect shortly afterward, but there have been no updates on the case for months.

Trans man Yampi Méndez Arocho, 19, died March 5 in Moca, Puerto Rico, after being shot multiple times. He had reportedly been attacked by a woman about five hours before the fatal shooting. His mother had called police after the initial assault, but little is known about what took place between that attack and his death. 

Monika Diamond, a 34-year-old transgender activist and business operator, was shot to death March 18 in Charlotte, N.C., while being treated in an ambulance. She had been experiencing shortness of breath during an altercation with several people in the parking lot of a Days Inn, and an ambulance was called. A man identified as Prentice Bess, 32, tried to enter the ambulance as Diamond was receiving treatment but was turned away, as no one is allowed in ambulances except the paramedics and the person being treated. He left briefly, then returned and shot Diamond several times, according to police. Paramedics tried to revive her, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Bess was arrested and charged with murder. Diamond was the founder and co-owner of Ncphyne Promotion Co., an event marketing company, according to the Human Rights Campaign. She was also co-CEO of the International Mother of the Year Pageantry System, which honors LGBTQ+ mothers.  

This 33-year-old woman, identified only by the nickname Lexi, was stabbed to death in a park in New York City’s Harlem neighborhood early in the morning of March 28. A friend of hers, Lavonia Brooks, said Lexi had taken a wig off another trans woman’s head a few hours before the she was stabbed. “What happened last night was uncalled for,” Brooks told the New York Daily News. “It was all over a wig, a fucking wig.” Brooks added, “I really looked up to [Lexi] because of her tolerance and respect. Lexi had a beautiful heart; she was very gifted.”

Scott DeVore, also known as Scottlynn Kelly DeVore, of Augusta, Ga., was found dead near a Georgia highway March 30 after having been missing for two weeks. DeVore was a 51-year-old white gender-nonconforming person, and it’s unclear what name or pronouns they would have preferred, according to the Human Rights Campaign. But DeVore “appeared to have been presenting as Scottlynn when leaving home for the last time,” HRC notes. Ronald Harris Jr., 40, of Wrens, Ga., has been charged with murdering DeVore. An arrest warrant says DeVore was choked to death near their apartment building, and their body then put in a car and dumped near Wrens, about 30 miles from Augusta. Ronald and Margaret Harris had initially been arrested on charges of burglarizing DeVore’s home. It’s not clear from media reports if the Harrises are married, siblings, or otherwise related.

Johanna Metzger was fatally stabbed in Baltimore April 20. She was from Pennsylvania but was staying at a recovery center in Baltimore, local media reported. She was a college graduate and a self-taught musician who played multiple instruments, her mother told TV station WMAR.

Penélope Díaz Ramírez, a 31-year-old trans woman, was killed at the Bayamon correctional complex, a men's prison in Puerto Rico, April 13. She had been beaten and hanged. No further details have been released.

Serena Angelique Velázquez and Layla Pelaez were friends from New York City on vacation in Puerto Rico. They were shot to death and their car set on fire April 21 in the town of Humacao. There was a fairly quick arrest in their deaths, which is not the case in many crimes against transgender people. In May, a federal grand jury indicted two men, Sean Díaz De León and Juan Carlos Pagán Bonilla, charging them with murder, using a firearm in relation to crimes of violence, carjacking resulting in death, and destruction of property using explosive materials. The men, who were arrested April 29, were also charged with hate crimes; this is the first case in Puerto Rico that has resulted in charges under the LGBTQ+-inclusive federal hate-crimes law, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The suspects told an FBI agent they had had sexual relations with the women and then learned the women were transgender, so the men became angry and felt they had been “tricked.” They are awaiting trial.

Serena Angelique Velázquez and Layla Pelaez were friends from New York City on vacation in Puerto Rico. They were shot to death and their car set on fire April 21 in the town of Humacao. There was a fairly quick arrest in their deaths, which is not the case in many crimes against transgender people. In May, a federal grand jury indicted two men, Sean Díaz De León and Juan Carlos Pagán Bonilla, charging them with murder, using a firearm in relation to crimes of violence, carjacking resulting in death, and destruction of property using explosive materials. The men, who were arrested April 29, were also charged with hate crimes; this is the first case in Puerto Rico that has resulted in charges under the LGBTQ+-inclusive federal hate-crimes law, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The suspects told an FBI agent they had had sexual relations with the women and then learned the women were transgender, so the men became angry and felt they had been “tricked.” They are awaiting trial.

Nina Pop was stabbed to death in Sikeston, Mo., May 3; her body was found in her apartment. Pop, 28, worked at a fast-food restaurant in Sikeston and was well-known in the area, according to KFVS, a TV station in nearby Cape Girardeau. “She was always happy,” her friend Emory McCauley told the station.

Helle Jae O’Regan, 20, was helping to prepare her workplace, Diesel Barbershop in San Antonio, for reopening after a pandemic-related shutdown when a man armed with a gun and a knife attacked the shop May 6. O'Regan was stabbed to death, and another employee was wounded. Police soon arrested Damion Campbell, 42, on a murder charge. They were able to track him down because he had been in the shop earlier to make an appointment and given his name to the workers, who had entered it into a computer. Friends remembered O’Regan as an upbeat, loving person. “Every time I saw her, she smiled,” friend Luke Tyler told TV station KSAT. “She’d do anything for you. She was a caring person. I never saw her in a bad mood.” He added, “Being trans is so hard, and her life was hard, but she lived like it was the best day of her life every day.” 

Jayne Thompson, 33, of Bisbee, Ariz., was shot to death May 9 in Mesa County, Colo., by a Colorado State Patrol officer. She was not identified as a trans woman until a month later, as she was misgendered and deadnamed in most media reports. Thompson had been observed standing at a highway intersection for a couple of hours, and the state patrol was called. The officer, Jason Wade, said he feared for his life when Thompson came at him with a knife, so he shot her three or four times, by his own estimate. County prosecutors decided not to charge him, saying his response was justified. But Thompson was obviously “in crisis,” Tori Cooper, the Human Rights Campaign’s director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a blog post. 

“In reading about the fatal shooting of Jayne Thompson by a Colorado State Trooper, two things become clear,” Cooper said. “First, it is appalling that it took the media over a month to correctly identify Jayne with her correct name and pronouns. Transgender and gender-nonconforming people deserve dignity in death as well as life. Secondly, it is clear that Jayne was in crisis when she was approached by Colorado State Patrol. When members of the community need help, the expectation is to protect and serve and not to be killed.”

Transgender man Tony McDade, 38, was shot to death by a police officer in Tallahassee, Fla., May 27. His death has further fueled the conversation around police violence against African-Americans. McDade was attacked by a group of men the previous day, and he is accused of having fatally stabbed one of the men shortly before his own life ended. The officer, whose name has not been released, said McDade had pointed a gun at him. The man who was stabbed has been identified as Malik Jackson, 21, whose family says McDade was harassing Jackson's mother, Jennifer, who was trying to end a relationship with him. But activists say McDade's actions do not justify his death and have pointed out the discrepancy in treatment of Black and white suspects.

Selena Reyes-Hernandez, 37, was fatally shot May 31 at her apartment in Chicago. Orlando Perez, 18, who is charged with first-degree murder, was enraged upon learning that Reyes-Hernandez was transgender, so much so that he returned to the scene and shot her again after she was dead, Cook County prosecutors said during a court hearing a few days later. A judge has denied bail in the case, in which there will be further court proceedings.

Dominique “Rem’mie” Fells was found dead in the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia June 8. She had serious injuries to the head and face, and her legs had been severed and were not recovered at the scene or anywhere else. The city's medical examiner ruled that she died of stab wounds. “One more precious Black trans woman’s life has been violently taken,” Deja Lynn Alvarez, a trans woman and community organizer, told Philadelphia Gay News. An arrest warrant has been issued for Akhenaton Jones, 36, who was acquainted with Fells, but so far he remains at large. Police said they found a power-cutting tool and blood at Jones’s home, The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Riah Milton was shot and killed June 9 in Liberty Township, Ohio. Three people are accused of luring her into a park where she was ambushed, in what police are calling a robbery that turned deadly. Kaleb Marshall Tooson, 18, has been charged with murder, felonious assault, and aggravated robbery. Tyree Jeffery Cross, 25, is charged with complicity to murder, complicity to aggravated robbery, and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. A 14-year-old girl, whose name was not released, is charged with complicity to aggravated robbery, complicity to murder, and tampering with evidence. A friend called Milton "an amazing person who was loved by everyone."

Transgender man Brian Joseph Powers, a cook who was nicknamed "Egypt," died of a gunshot wound June 13 in his hometown of Akron, Ohio. His body was found on a street near a church. Police have classified his death as a homicide but have no leads. His family and friends have told local media they fear police are not taking the investigation seriously because of Powers's race and gender identity. “I’m kind of disturbed when they say ‘Black Lives Matter,’” local activist Steve Arrington told the Akron Beacon Journal. “I say, ‘Whose lives, my life? Or just heterosexual Black people’s lives? What about my LGBTQ brothers and sisters? They’re Black. Do their lives matter?’” Powers's family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a reward.

Brayla Stone, 17, was found dead in a car in Sherwood, Ark., a town near Little Rock, June 25. Police have not released any information about her cause of death, except to deem it a homicide. Trevone Miller, 18, was arrested in early July on a charge of capital murder. Police say they so far have no evidence indicating Stone’s death was a bias crime. 

Merci Mack, 22, was found shot to death in the parking lot of an apartment complex in Dallas June 30. Angelo Walker, 20, was arrested and charged with murder a few days later. A witness said he saw Walker pursuing Mack in the parking lot and shooting at her, according to an affidavit from the arrest warrant. At one point she was lying on the ground and Walker was continuing to fire at her, the affidavit states. The witness and anonymous tipsters said Walker and Mack were arguing over a video of the two of them that she intended to share with others. The content of the video remains unknown. Mack’s family and friends expressed relief that an arrest had been made. They described her as an upbeat person who doted on her niece and nephews.

Shakie Peters (some outlets have spelled her first name "Shaki"), 32, was found dead July 1 near Amite, La. The St. Helena Parish Sheriff's Office is investigating her death as a homicide but has not released details about how she died. The department has also identified a person of interest, but so far no arrest has been announced. 

Natahalie Nia Faulk, a friend of Peters who is also a Black trans woman, remembered her fondly. “Shakie was a very independent person and very loyal to her friends,” she told The Advocate, a Louisiana newspaper that is not related to this publication. “She was full of laughter and an abundance of life.”

Bree Black, 27, was shot to death in her hometown of Pompano Beach, Fla., the night of July 3. About 25 people gathered to honor her two days later in Pompano Beach. “We want some immediate answers to what’s going on and we want this investigation to be done with full integrity,” Tifanny Burks, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Alliance Broward, said at the event.

Marilyn Monroe Cazares, 22, who was experiencing homelessness, was found dead July 13 in Brawley, Calif. Police have not released details on her manner of death, but family members said she had been stabbed and set on fire. Her relatives said she was welcome in their home but preferred life on the street. “That might sound a little crazy to me and you, but I think that’s where [she] was accepted,” her aunt Sonia Casteñeda told The Desert Review. “Some of us didn’t understand the life [she] led. Some of us accepted it, and some of us had the old mentality of you’re not supposed to be living life like that, and some of us just loved [her] unconditional.” Members of her family think her death was probably a hate crime, and they hope someone in the rural community has information they will share with police.

Tiffany Harris, 32, was stabbed to death in New York City’s Bronx borough early in the morning of July 26. Harris, also known by the name Dior H. Ova, was found in the hallway of an apartment building about 1:30 a.m. and taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead an hour later. She was a personal shopper and loved fashion, friends said. A suspect has been arrested in her death.

Queasha Hardy, 24, was found shot to death on a street in Baton Rouge, La., July 27. Little information is available about her life, but her Facebook page is full of messages from friends mourning her. 

Summer Taylor, who was nonbinary, was hit by a car while participating in a Black Lives Matter protest in Seattle July 4. She died soon afterward at a local hospital. Dawit Kelete, 27, of Seattle, has been charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving. He has pleaded not guilty, with his lawyers saying the crash, in which another protester was injured, was "a tragic accident" and not a crime. Taylor, who worked at a veterinary hospital, was described by one friend as "a blinding light in an otherwise dark world.” 

Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears was stabbed to death July 25 at a home in Portland, Ore., where she was attending a vigil for a shooting victim. A fight broke out, resulting in the stabbings of Rhone-Spears and one other person, who survived, according to the Portland Police Department, which is still searching for a suspect. “I, alongside HRC and so many others, am mourning the loss of Aja Raquell Rhone-Spears — who was not even able to attend a vigil to mourn without risk of death,” said Tori Cooper, the Human Rights Campaign’s director of community engagement for its Transgender Justice Initiative.

Kee Sam was shot at a hotel in Lafayette, La., August 12, and died the next day. She was initially deadnamed and misgendered in local media. A 16-year-old suspect is in custody.

Lea Rayshon Daye died August 30 in the Cuyahoga County Jail in Cleveland, where she had been held since mid-May. Her death remains under investigation, but the Human Rights Campaign has added her to its list of trans people who've died by violence, and she left a letter to her mother detailing horrible conditions at the jail. She had worked at a local homeless shelter and had ambitions to be a model.

Aerrion Burnett was found shot to death on the side of a road in Independence, Mo., September 19, two days before her 38th birthday. Burnett, who lived in nearby Kansas City, was memorialized at a vigil the next day. “She was a goddess,” her friend Korea Kelly said at the vigil. “Can you hear me? Fun! When I say goddess, she was everything. If you wanted to have a good day, you need to smile, Aerrion was the person you wanted by your side.” Police are still searching for suspects.

Mia Green died September 28 of a gunshot wound to the neck. She was a passenger in a vehicle driven by Abdullah Ibn El-Amin Jaamia, 28, and he has been charged with her murder. Friends recalled her as "a sweet spirit" with a smile that was “so perfect and so contagious.”

Michelle “Michellyn” Ramos Vargas, a bartender and nursing student, was found dead on a roadside in San Germán, Puerto Rico, September 30. She had been shot several times in the head. She lived in the nearby city of Mayagüez. “Her name is Michelle Ramos Vargas and she was my age,” trans rights activist Joanna Cifredo de Fellman told a local newspaper. “Her passion, like mine, was helping other people; that’s why she decided to study nursing. Here is another sad example that gender perspective is urgently needed to educate our youth to recognize, respect, and celebrate the differences between us.” No arrest has been made in Vargas's death.

Felycya Harris, a self-employed interior decorator, was shot to death in a park in Augusta, Ga., October 3. A suspect has yet to be identified. Harris is remembered for her decorating expertise, which she learned from her grandmother, and her distinctive personality. “Everybody’s going to remember Felycya,” her friend Ricola Collier told local media. “That laugh. The smile — the smiles. The talks. The arguments. The attitudes. Everybody is going to remember who Felycya Harris is. Nobody would ever forget who that is.”

Brooklyn DeShauna Smith, identified by some sources as Brooklyn Deshuna, was found dead in her Shreveport, La., apartment October 7, having suffered at least one gunshot wound. She was studying cosmetology at a community college. Friends remembered her as "genuinely a good person." Police have not yet found a suspect.

Sara Blackwood was shot to death while walking home from work October 11 in Indianapolis. She was well-liked by her coworkers at a Kroger grocery store, but she was on her way home from a different job the night she was killed. “The world at large is missing a very kind, responsible person,” Kroger colleage Jimmy Johnson told a local TV station. No suspects have been identified.

Angel Unique, identified by some sources as Angel Haynes, was found dead in a motel room in Memphis, Tenn., October 25. She had been shot in the head. She was a cosmetologist who lived in Jackson, Tenn., and friends said she was just visiting Memphis for the night. “Everybody that knew Angel knew that she was very funny. Very nice to everybody she met,” her best friend, Takia Weddle, told a Tennessee TV station. Weddle believes Angel was killed because she was trans. Her death remains under investigation.

Skylar Heath, 20, died November 4 in Miami. Police are investigating her death as a homicide but have released no further information. Heath was misgendered and deadnamed in initial news coverage. An obituary described her as “a kind and gentle soul” and “nothing short of an amazing person,” with a “warm personality” and a “friendly spirit.”

Miami transgender performer and activist Yunieski Carey Herrera, better known as Yuni Carey, was stabbed to death in her condo November 17. Her partner, Ygor Arrudasouza, has been charged with second-degree murder. He told police he stabbed her in a fit of rage while he was under the influence of crystal meth, and he is being held without bond. Carey, an immigrant from Cuba, was a salsa dancer and beauty queen who was beloved in Miami and other cities. She was scheduled to return soon to performing at a Miami nightclub after having been on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asia Jynaé Foster, 22, was found dead on a street in Houston November 20, having suffered multiple gunshot wounds. She was memorialized at a candlelight vigil two days later at the Montrose Center, the city’s LGBTQ+ resource center. “Family and friends at the vigil said at the young age of 22, Foster had turned her life around, was excelling professionally and personally, and was a beacon of light in their community,” TV station KTRK reported.

Kimberly Susan Fial, 55, was stabbed to death November 22 while volunteering at a homeless shelter at Grace Baptist Church in San Jose, Calif. Several others were attacked that night; one other person was killed and three others wounded.

Fial was a military veteran who had come to the shelter in the summer as a client and soon became a valued volunteer. “My heart always felt warm when I saw her when I got into the building,” shelter manager Phil Mastrocola told The Mercury News. “One, I’m thinking, OK, I know everything’s under control. And two, she’s just a good person.”

Fernando Jesus Lopez, 32, who was also a client and volunteer at the shelter, has been arrested in connection with the attack. He is charged with two counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder.

Chae’Meshia Simms was found dead November 23 in a car that had crashed into a garage in Richmond, Va. She had suffered a single gunshot wound and was the only person in the car. Friends and family recalled her as a “good,” “kind,” and “caring” person. She was in her 30s.

The U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Ryejon Lee December 10 in connection with her her death; he was arrested “on outstanding warrants for robbery and use of a firearm in commission of a felony,” Richmond TV station WTVR reports. Additional charges are pending.