Remembering Our Dead: March 2017
Every year on or around 20th November people worldwide gather for the Transgender day of Remembrance to to remember the trans people we have lost to murder and violence in the past year, as reported by the Trans Murder Monitoring Project and published by Transgender Europe (TGEU).
The following are details of trans people known to have been killed worldwide during March 2017 (see TDoR 2017: Say their names. Learn their stories. Remember them for an index covering the whole year).
[TRIGGER WARNING: VIOLENCE. MURDER]
J.
Age 23
1 Mar 2017
Municipio de Chalco, Estado de Mexico (Mexico)
Stabbed
J. was stabbed in the face and chest by her partner after an argument. He was subsequently arrested.
P. J.
Age 24
2 Mar 2017
Doi Saket, Chiang Mai (Thailand)
Stabbed
P. J. was stabbed in the chest and neck by her boyfriend after a fight.
Michelly Garcia
Age 25
3 Mar 2017
Pelotas (Brazil)
Shot
Michelly was shot in the head in her own home by two men who arrived on a motorcycle. She died on the way to hospital.
Her Facebook profile is https://www.facebook.com/mychell.garcia.33
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/03/m-da-cunha-25-anos-tiros-rs-pelotas/ [DEAD LINK]
https://www.diariopopular.com.br/index.php?n_sistema=3056&id_noticia=MTIyMTY0&id_area=Nw==%E2%80%8B
https://variedadesruba.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/pelotas-jovem-de-25-anos-e-morto-
Name Unknown
6 Mar 2017
Goiania (Brazil)
Shot
The victim was shot and killed at dawn on Monday 6th March at Rua 21 de Abril, Parque Anhanguera 2.
A friend who was with her and was not injured reported that the shooter was on a motorcycle. He was alone on the vehicle and fled the crime scene.
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/nao-identificada-tiros-go-goiania/ [DEAD LINK]
http://g1.globo.com/goias/noticia/2017/03/travesti-e-morta-tiros-em-goiania.html
Rubi Navarros
Age 26
6 Mar 2017
Luziania (Brazil)
Shot
Rubi was drinking in a bar with someone she had a relationship with when he pulled out a gun and started shooting at people. Rubi and a cisgender woman named Vera Lucia were killed. The killer fled the scene.
A man suspected of being their killer was arrested in Araguaia in March 2018.
According to the Civil Police of MT, Danilo de Sousa Araújo, 25, killed a military police officer in Maranhão, besides being suspected of participating in the death of a [cis] woman and a trans woman in a bar in Luziânia, Federal District.
Her Facebook profile is https://www.facebook.com/rubi.navarros.
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/rubi-tiros-go-luziania/ [DEAD LINK]
https://www.facebook.com/1708994492682297/photos/pcb.1899611620287249/1899611590287252
Sandra Marafigo Cordeiro
Age 43
8 Mar 2017
Laranjeiras do Sul, Paraná (Brazil)
Beaten
Sandra was found dead on the morning of Wednesday 8th March in Cristo Rei Square, Laranjeiras do Sul, in the south of Paraná. According to reports she had arrived in the city during the previous week and had been sleeping rough in the square.
On the Saturday before her murder she had been beaten by some young people near the bus station, and gone to the police station to report the assault. Her death was a result of the head injury she suffered during the assault.
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/08/nao-identificada-pr-laranjeiras-do-sul/ [DEAD LINK]
https://olhoabertopr.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/morte-de-travesti-pode-ter-sido.html
Jennifer Celia Henrique (“Jenni”)
Age 38
10 Mar 2017
Florianopolis (Brazil)
Beaten
Jenni was found dead with head injuries in a building in the neighbourhood of Ingleses, in the north of Santa Catarina Island. A suspect was arrested just over a month later on 23rd April 2017 and confessed to her murder.
She had previously been assaulted in 2013 and 2016.
Her Facebook profile is https://www.facebook.com/jennifercelia.henrique.
The murder caused commotion in social networks, especially in the LGBT community of Santa Catarina.
Jenni, who worked with the sale of cosmetics, is described by friends as a “cheerful” person, “smiling” and “always saw the good side of life.”
Another friend wrote that today was a day of “cowardice … of prejudice … of injustice … What to talk about you ??? They are good things … joy … strength … friendship … courage. Not always what suits us serves the other … as well as what is good for another sometimes does not suit us … being different is not bad … life is made of differences … let’s know how to live .. .amar … to respect.”
http://www.jornalconexao.com.br/transexual-jennifer-do-santinho-e-assassinada-no-norte-da-ilha/
Gabriele Marchiori
Age 19
12 Mar 2017
Cachoeirinha (Brazil)
Cause of death unknown
The cause of Gabriele’s death is unknown. Her body was found burned.
https://goqueer.blogspot.com/2017/04/brazil-transgender-womans-body-found.html
L. F. dos Santos
Age 26
12 Mar 2017
Serra, Espírito Santo (Brazil)
Shot
L. was a tattooist. On the morning of Sunday 12th March he was riding his motorcycle near his house in the Nova Almeida neighbourhood when he was shot in the head by a person on the street. He died instantly.
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/13/l-f-dos-santos-26-anos-tiros-es-serra/ [DEAD LINK]
Lexia Famosinha
13 Mar 2017
Santa Fe do Sul (Brazil)
Stabbed
Lexia was stabbed in the back and ribs after an argument with another sex worker. She died in hospital.
https://goqueer.blogspot.com/2017/04/transgender-woman-murdered-by-another.html
http://www.diariodevotuporanga.com.br/2017/03/14/apos-discussao-travesti-e-morto-em-santa-fe-do-sul/
http://sbtinterior.com/noticia/apos-briga-travesti-e-morto-a-facadas-na-regiao-2017-03-14.html
Rapee
Age 39
14 Mar 2017
Kantharalak, Srisaket (Thailand)
Beaten
Rapee was beaten, and her body found by her sister. A man has been arrested and has confessed to the murder.
Camila Albuquerque
Age 20
15 Mar 2017
Salvador (Brazil)
Shot
Camila was shot 15 times. Her hands had been tied behind her back. According to witnesses she had been used as bait and then killed by the same people who hired her.
https://goqueer.blogspot.com/2017/04/brazil-transexual-woman-found-dead-on.html
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/15/camila-albuquerque-tiros-dhpp-e-13a-dp-ba-salvador/ [DEAD LINK]
http://www.doistercos.com.br/transexual-e-assassinada-em-salvador/
Danilo Melhorini
15 Mar 2017
São Paulo (Brazil)
Suicide
Danilo died by suicide. Their Facebook profile is https://www.facebook.com/melhorini.
Today in the sky, a shining star has been made. The most glamorous and full of sparkle woman who illuminated the way of all with great joy, good mood, with all glitter that came from her beautiful spirituality.
This passage makes me think so much how much we only know what’s going on inside of you, your fears, your monsters and anguish. She chose to leave for another plan, and she will arrive debuting in heaven, as a diva that was and will always be in our memories.
Go in peace honey!
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/15/danilo-melhorini-suicidio-sp-sao-paulo/ [DEAD LINK]
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pgmreal/permalink/1457164517690178/
Angie Velásquez Ramírez
Age 36
16 Mar 2017
Le Plata, Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Death in custody
Angie was detained during a police operation on 18th February 2017. She was held for about twenty days in the police station No. 11 of Ringuelet “in intolerable conditions”, then taken to Florencio Varela and Lisando Olmos prisons. She died in custody less than a month later.
Her death was the second of four in custody deaths in similar suspicious circumstances (the others being Pamela Macedo Panduro, Brandy Bardales Sangama and Damaris Becerra Jurado) in the same province during 2017 .
All were Peruvian migrants and Otrans activists. Otrans reports that in the city the police routinely make arbitrary arrests of trans women. The detainees are routinely held without charge for long periods in degrading conditions without access to healthcare.
The trans support organisation Otrans Argentina (http://otransargentina.org/) denounced her death as a hate crime and filed a criminal complaint accusing the judge and prosecutor in charge of her case of killing her.
http://cosecharoja.org/otra-vez-muere-una-muere-una-trans-en-prision/
http://cosecharoja.org/fue-un-asesinato-una-mujer-trans-migrante-y-militante-politica/
Bruninha Tavares
Age 17
16 Mar 2017
Ourinhos (Brazil)
Stabbed
Bruninha was stabbed. A farm worker found her body in a rural area in Salta Grande. She had stab wounds to the back and neck and her body showed signs of being mauled by a jaguar.
Friends of Bruninha who where with her before she was murdered reported that they had been ambushed by another car containing three people who the stabbed Bruninha in the back and forced her into their car. Afterwards they left at high speed heading towards the highway.
Three suspects were subsequently arrested. The first hearing of the case took place on
http://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/16/bruna-tavares-17-anos-facadas-sp-ourinhos/ [DEAD LINK]
http://www.chavantesnoticia.com.br/?p=39517
http://portaltanacidade.com/principal/travesti-e-assassinada-em-ourinhos.html
Vulgo L. H. Santos
18 Mar 2017
Vitória, Espírito Santo (Brazil)
Shot
Vulgo was shot on the street. No other details were reported.
His Facebook profile is https://www.facebook.com/menor.lh.9.
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/18/vulgo-lh-santos-tiros-es-vitoria/ [DEAD LINK]
H. Ramirez Calderon
Age 43
19 Mar 2017
Guanajuato (Mexico)
Shot
H. was shot 6 times in the street at 6:15am on Sunday 19th March. Neighbours reported hearing gunshots, and upon investigration they found a trans woman lying near the corner of 5 de Febrero street.
Seeing that there was a lot of blood, they asked for the support of the emergency corps, but nothing could be done, because the person had already died in the place.
Paola Ponce
Age 23
19 Mar 2017
Matamoros, Tamaulipas (Mexico)
Tortured, raped and beaten
Paola was tortured, raped and beaten to death. Her killer then threw her body into the street a short distance from her home.
According to her brother, the woman was engaged in sex work and every day she placed herself on Avenida Marte R. Gómez, at the intersection with Mar Caribe Street, in the Valle de Aragón neighborhood to wait for her clients.
A partner of Paola says that the last time he saw her was boarding a green Jeep Cherokee car, model of 2010, which was driven by a man. That was at 9 o’clock at night. Twelve hours later the neighbors found his body in a vacant lot, apparently the woman was dragged to that place.
http://desastre.mx/mexico/paola-fue-violada-y-asesinada-por-ser-trans-en-tamaulipas/
Alphonza Watson
Age 38
22 Mar 2017
Baltimore (USA)
Shot
Alphonza was shot in the stomach after an argument with two men at about 4:15 am. She was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
According to witnesses, someone was heard shouting for help and two men were seen running away and getting into a car.
https://mic.com/articles/171840/alphonza-watson-38-year-old-transgender-woman-killed-in-baltimore
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/03/22/eighth-trans-woman-shot-and-killed-in-the-us-this-year/
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-ci-guilford-homicide-20170322-story.html
Paola Bracho
Age 40
22 Mar 2017
Street Joao Candido do Camara (Brazil)
Beaten and stabbed
Paola was beaten and stabbed at least 17 times by a group of 8 other sex workers, apparently following a dispute over work. The perpetrators fled in a vehicle.
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/22/paola-bracho-prof-sexo-40-anos-facadas-ms-dourados/ [DEAD LINK]
https://bocadopovonews.com.br/travesti-e-morto-por-grupo-de-oito-pessoas-em-dourados/
http://www.redenewsms.com/2017/03/em-briga-por-ponto-de-prostituicao.html
Paulina
23 Mar 2017
Recife (Brazil)
Shot
Paulina was shot 5 times in the chest, breast and face by two men on a motorcycle. She tried to run away only to fall dead just a few meters away.
https://goqueer.blogspot.com/2017/04/brazil-transgender-woman-executed-in.html
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/23/paulina-22-anos-tiros-pe-recife/ [DEAD LINK]
Name Unknown
24 Mar 2017
Porto Da Areia, Paraíba (Brazil)
Cause of death unknown
The victim was found dead with head wounds on a beach. Her identity and cause of death were not reported.
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/24/nao-identificada-paraiba/ [DEAD LINK]
https://www.facebook.com/sergio.brito.50309/posts/1016299595137869
Wilka
Age 40
26 Mar 2017
Vitória de Santo Antão (Brazil)
Stabbed
Wilka was on her way back from a friend’s house to her home in Loteamento Luiz Gonzaga when she was attacked and stabbed in the abdomen, neck and back. A friend reported that she was murdered after a robber realised that she was transgender.
“Wherever you are, good rest”
“Now you are free from the murderers of the earth.”
Note that the TGEU list gives her name as “Uilca”, but friends called her Wilka so that is the name given here.
Please note: the photos shown in the links below are extremely distressing. Do not click on them unless you are sure you can handle what you will see
https://goqueer.blogspot.com/2017/04/brazil-transgender-woman-is-brutally.html
https://homofobiamata.wordpress.com/2017/03/26/wilka-40-anos-facadas-vitoria-de-sto-antao-pe/ [DEAD LINK]
http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/trans-woman-wilka-stabbed-neck/
https://www.facebook.com/HeymillyMaynard/posts/1150804081711670
Name Unknown
Age 33
28 Mar 2017
Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais (Brazil)
Shot
The victim was shot dead in Juiz de Fora on the night of Tuesday 28th March.
She had four gunshot wounds to the body, two in the thoracic region and two in the left arm.
http://www.gay1.com.br/2017/03/travesti-e-morta-no-bairro-vila-esperanca-ii-em-juiz-de-fora/
Name Unknown
Age 35
Tlajomulco (Mexico)
Cause of death unknown
The victim’s body was found in an abandoned suitcase in a wasteland. The cause and date of death was not reported.
TvT partner organisation Centro de Apoyo a las Identidades Trans & Quadratin 11.03.2017
April 2017 >>
Rest in peace. We will not forget.
TDoR 2017: Say their names. Learn their stories. Remember them
With thanks to the many volunteers reporting acts of violence against trans people worldwide, and in particular to Transgender Europe.
