Remembering LGBT of Color Slain in 2014
Most of these brutal murders were underreported.
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Keymori Johnson - On Dec. 6, 24-year-old Keymori Johnson of Albany, Ga., became the 12th transgender woman of color murdered in the U.S. this year. Kuyaunnis James, the man who fatally shot Johnson, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, but many are questioning whether justice will be served. Thus far, the local media has misgendered Johnson and there has been no mentioning of a hate crime by authorities. Keep reading to learn about the LGBT people of color whose lives were brutally cut short in 2014. — Patrice Peck(Photo: Keymori Shatoya Johnson Via Facebook)
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Dionte Green - The Oct. 31 murder of Dionte Greene has gone largely unnoticed. The 22-year-old Black gay man had made plans to meet someone before attending a Halloween party that evening. But, Greene never made it to the festivities. Instead, he was discovered the next day fatally shot inside his car with the engine still running. Greene's family and friends claim he was shot because he was gay and meeting with a man on the down-low whom he met online. However, authorities did not rule his death a hate crime.(Photo: Golden Gate Funeral Chapel via Facebook)
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Tiffany Edwards - On June 26, Tiffany Edwards, 28, was found shot to death in a suburban town of Cincinnati. Her violent death marked the fourth transgendered woman murdered in Ohio since January 2013, the Advocate.com reported. Quamar Edwards, the main suspect in the case, turned himself in to the authorities the following month. He was arrested and charged with murder. The homicide was not a hate crime, according to Edwards' uncle, who alleges that his nephew simply became upset after the victim came onto him during a car ride. "This has nothing to do with 'cause the guy was gay," the uncle told WLWT.(Photo: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images)
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Deshawnda Sanchez - Deshawnda Sanchez, a 21-year-old transgender woman, was shot and killed in South Los Angeles while trying to escape a robbery. According to reports, Sanchez — who was not from that neighborhood — had pounded on someone's house door seeking safety from her pursuer. The neighbor eventually opened the door after hearing gunshots, but Sanchez had already been fatally wounded and died on the scene. A light-colored compact vehicle was spotted fleeing the scene.“I cannot say that it is a hate crime at this time," said Det. Chris Barling of the Los Angeles Police Department on Dec 4. However, we are being open to the fact that it could be a hate crime, he added.(Photo: Deshawnda Sanchez via Facebook)
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Zoraida “Ale” Reyes - The body of Zoraida “Ale” Reyes was found behind a Dairy Queen in Anaheim, Calif., on June 12. Although there were no immediate signs of foul play, police arrested Randy Lee Parkerson, 38, four months later in connection with the 28-year-old's suspicious death. Hate-crime charges were not pursued. "For many the lives of transgender people don't matter and they're viewed as disposable," Jorge Gutierrez, a friend of Reyes, told the Los Angeles Times. "We know that her identity as a trans woman was a huge factor, whether the police want to acknowledge it or not." Parkerson was reportedly being held on $1 million bail.(Photo: Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
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Aniya Knee Parker - On Oct. 2, Aniya Knee Parker, a 47-year-old transgender woman, was fatally shot at close range in East Hollywood, Calif. Multiple surveillance cameras caught the incident, which involved an attack and attempted mugging by three men at 3 a.m. Local police discounted any hate-crime motives and considered the tragedy a robbery gone wrong, but supporters of Parker believe her death was, in fact, a hate crime.(Photo: Mario Tama/Getty Images)
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Gizzy Fowler - Gizzy Fowler was discovered shot to death in a driveway in Nashville, on Nov. 12. The 24-year-old was found laying next to an opened-door car at the home of someone who had recently passed away. No suspects have been found. Most local news outlets referred to Fowler as a man when reporting the story, with only WZTV Nashville updating their story to reflect Fowler's trans self-identification. (Photo: Gizzy Fowler via Facebook)
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Britney Cosby and Crystal Jackson - The murders of Britney Cosby and her girlfriend Crystal Jackson made national headlines in March when Houston, police made a surprising arrest in the case. Cosby's father, James Larry Cosby, was charged with two counts of tampering with evidence in connection with the deaths of the women. According to several family members, James had an issue with his daughter's sexuality. The bodies of the two 24-year-olds had been found next to a dumpster outside of a store in Port Bolivar, Texas.(Photo: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images)
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Ashley Sherman - A patrol cop found Ashley Sherman shot in the head on the grounds of an Indianapolis condominium on Oct. 27, Advocate.com reported. According to local media, the 25-year-old's death was not investigated as a hate crime. "Tajshon Sherman's death makes it clear that there is an alarming epidemic of fatal violence against transgender and gender non-conforming women, specifically transgender women of color in the United States," said Osman Ahmed of the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs in a statement that week. "This violence is exacerbated by misgendering of victims by law enforcement and media outlets."(Photo: Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/TNS)
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Yaz’Min Shancez - “No one deserves to be violently murdered and set on fire and put behind a dumpster,” GLAAD spokesman Ross Murray said about the brutal murder of Yaz'min Shancez on June 19. The remains of the 31-year-old were found behind a garbage bin at a rental facility in Fort Myers, Florida. The next month, police arrested Terry Lynn Brady, whom they believed killed Shancez after she outed him as a person who "liked to be with guys" on Facebook.(Photo: AFP PHOTO/KENZO TRIBOUILLARD)
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