The murder of a transgender woman in Ohio has sparked national mourning and outrage, after local media described the victim with what LGBT activists deemed dehumanizing language.
Cemia "Ce Ce" Dove, 20, was found dead April 17 in Olmsted Township, according to police. Dove was identified by her birth name by police, but a report from TransGriot revealed her preferred name, after readers identified Dove.
According to multiple news sources, Dove suffered multiple stab wounds and was found in a pond in Cleveland, Ohio.
A news release from Olmsted Township police stated that Dove had been reported missing March 27. Police positively identified Dove through DNA testing.
Police said that two senior investigators have been put on Dove's case.
"The Olmsted Township Police Department has been working around the clock on this investigation, and will continue to diligently pursue all leads," the police statement reads.
Police did not identify Dove as transgender. Local media reports, however, described Dove using male pronouns, noting that she was "oddly dressed."
LGBT leaders have since confirmed that Dove identified as transgender.
On May 1, LGBT media advocacy organization GLAAD announced that it has been in touch with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, after the newspaper misgendered Dove in their coverage and stated that her murder ended her "long fight for acceptance." The paper has since altered some of its coverage.
GLAAD further noted that it was reaching out to other media outlets over problematic coverage of the murder.
Several LGBT blogs also fired back at reports that used male pronouns and described Dove's clothing in detail, stating that such reports trivialized her murder.
Dove was remembered at a rally in Cleveland May 1.
Transgender people, especially transgender women of color, face violence and discrimination at alarmingly high rates. Last year, Chicago saw two transgender homicides. Tiffany Gooden and Paige Clay, two friends who lived on Chicago's West Side, were murdered within months of each other. Both murders remain unsolved.