NCAVP mourns the deaths of Kandis Capri of Phoenix, AZ; Elisha Walker of Rowan County, NC; and Tamara Dominguez in Kansas City, MO. This spike in violence now brings the total number of reported homicides against transgender or gender non-conforming people to 17.
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs ( NCAVP ) has learned of the homicide of Kandis Capri, a Black transgender woman who was found shot to death in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday, August 11th. According to local media reports, Kandis Capri, 35, was shot and killed near an apartment complex in Phoenix. At the time of this release, no additional information is known about motive.
Just two days later, the body of Elisha Walker, 20, a Black transgender woman found in a shallow grave outside Smithfield, North Carolina. According to local media reports, Elisha Walker had not been seen by family or friends since October 2014 and her vehicle was found a month later. Detectives have charged Angel Arias with her murder and for larceny.
Shortly after the news of Elisha Walker, NCAVP learned of the homicide of Tamara Dominguez, a Latina transgender woman in Kansas City, Missouri. According to local media reports, she was run over multiple times and police may investigate the incident as a hate crime.
These are now the 15th, 16th, and 17th reported homicides of a transgender or gender non-conforming person — 15 of whom were transgender women of color — that NCAVP has responded to in 2015. The transgender and gender non-conforming people we have lost to violence in 2015 include:
- Papi Edwards, a black transgender woman, was shot to death at the Fern Valley Motel on January 9th, 2015. An alleged suspect, Henry Richard Gleaves, has been arrested and charged with her murder.
- Lamia Beard, a black transgender woman, was found shot to death on January 17th in Norfolk, Virginia.
- Ty Underwood, a black transgender woman, was found shot to death early Monday morning on January 26th, after a woman called 911 to say a car had hit a telephone pole and that her children had heard gunshots. Her loved ones are speaking out, saying that they believe this was a hate crime.
- Yazmin Vash Payne, a black transgender woman, was discovered fatally stabbed to death on Saturday, January 31st at the scene of a house fire in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles. Payne's boyfriend, Ezekiel Dear, has been arrested and booked for suspicion of murder in connection with her death.
- Taja Gabrielle de Jesus, a latin@ transgender woman, was discovered stabbed to death on a stairwell in San Francisco's Bayview District on Sunday, February 1st.
- Penny Proud, a black transgender woman, was found fatally shot on February 10th at the cross section of Ursulines Avenue and North Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Kristina Gomez Reinwald, a latin@ transgender woman, was found unresponsive in her home on February 15, 2015 and her death is being investigated as a homicide.
- London Chanel, A black transgender woman stabbed to death in Philadelphia on Monday, May 8th, she was stabbed by her roommate's boyfriend in North Philadelphia.
- Mercedes Williamson, transgender woman, was found stabbed to dead and buried in a wooded field in George County, Mississippi on Saturday, May 30th. Josh Brandon Vallum, who reportedly told his father about committing the homicide, has been arrested.
- India Clarke, a black transgender woman who was found beaten to death on Tuesday, July 21st in a park area of the University Area Community Center in Tampa, Florida.
- K.C. Haggard, a transgender woman was stabbed to death in the street by an individual in a car in front of multiple witnesses in Fresno, California on July 23rd.
- Amber Monroe, a black transgender woman, who was shot to death in Detroit, Michigan on August 8th.
- Ms. Shade Schuler, a black transgender woman killed in Dallas, Texas on July 29th.
- Ashton O'Hara, a black transgender/gender-nonconforming person whose body was found July 14th in Detroit, Michigan.
NCAVP has reached out to local NCAVP member organizations Wingspan Anti-Violence Programs in Arizona, Rainbow Community Cares in Raleigh, North Carolina, and the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project in Kansas City, Missouri to support the local communities affected by these homicides.
"Rainbow Community Cares mourns the death of Elisha Walker, a young woman whose life was tragically cut short. We honor her life and are dedicated to work for preventing violence against transwomen of color." says Rev. J. Zirbel of NCAVP member organization, Rainbow Community Cares.
The Kansas City Anti-Violence Project ( KCAVP ) is devastated to learn of Tamara Dominguez's tragic death," said Justin Shaw, Executive Director at the Kansas City Anti-Violence Project. "Our hearts are heavy with grief that another member of our community was taken too soon. We lift up Tamara's family, friends and the entire Trans and LGBQ communities in love and support through these difficult times. Tamara's family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover her funeral expenses and to send her body back to her family in Mexico. We encourage the community to send their support. More information can be found at: www.gofundme.com/u4247w9k. The murder of trans women, particularly trans women of color, is a real epidemic facing our nation. We demand immediate attention on both local and national levels to end this violence."
"The killings of Kandis Capri, Elisha Walker, and Tamara Dominguez are terrible tragedies, and we send our support to surviving friends and family," said Chai Jindasurat, Co-Director of Community Organizing and Public Advocacy at the New York City Anti-Violence Project. "This crisis of violence is killing transgender people, particularly transgender women of color, at alarming rates in 2015. We call on public officials, community leaders, and community members to act now to try and prevent violence against transgender people. We cannot do this work alone, and everyone has a part in ending this violence."
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs' ( NCAVP ) most recent report, Hate Violence Against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and HIV-Affected Communities in the United States in 2014, documented 20 anti-LGBTQ homicides in 2014. Of those 20 homicides, a majority ( 55% ) of victims were transgender women, and half ( 50% ) were transgender women of color.
NCAVP is a resource for anyone who experiences violence. For more information, or to locate an anti-violence program in your area, please contact us at info@ncavp.org or visit us online. Join NCAVP in our efforts to prevent and respond to LGBTQ and HIV-affected violence. To learn more about our national advocacy and receive technical assistance or support, contact us at info@ncavp.org .
NCAVP works to prevent, respond to, and end all forms of violence against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer ( LGBTQ ) and HIV-affected communities. NCAVP is a national coalition of local member programs and affiliate organizations who create systemic and social change. NCAVP is a program of the New York City Anti-Violence Project.
