These Are the Trans People Lost to Violence in 2020

Violence against transgender Americans continues at epidemic proportions. There have been at least 24 homicides of trans and nonbinary people in the U.S. so far in 2020, surpassing the number (21) for all of 2019, and most of the victims have been Black or Latinx women. The figures for both years probably represent undercounts, given that many trans people are misgendered in death by police or media, or their deaths not reported at all. 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. Read about these people and their lives 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.”

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. She 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. Police are seeking to question a man they believe was in a relationship with Harris.

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.