Warning: This article contains a graphic description of anti-trans violence.
Martasia Richmond, a 30-year-old Black trans woman, was killed in Chicago last week. She is at least the 20th trans American to be killed this year.
Richmond was arguing with her partner, Daniel Burley, at Burley’s grandmother’s house when she was stabbed in the neck and chest area, according to the local news outlet Chicago Journal, which misgendered Richmond in its coverage. Burley called 911, and Richmond could be heard saying, “You stabbed me… you killed me,” at which point he hung up.
After Chicago Police Department officers responded to a domestic battery call, Richmond was found with multiple stab wounds at around 11:45 p.m. on July 11, as originally reported by TransGriot. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Although CPD officers attempted to canvas the neighborhood for witnesses, one officer was quoted as saying that “witnesses were very uncooperative.”
Burley was taken into custody, held without bail, and charged with one count of first-degree murder, according to the Journal. While the Journal acknowledges that Richmond was trans, they refer to her as a “man identifying as a woman.”
Advocates mourned Richmond’s death. “It is evident in the countless tributes from friends that Martasia Richmond was well-loved and taken from us far too soon,” said Tori Cooper, Human Rights Campaign Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, in a press release. “At 30 years old, she should have decades ahead of her to spend with those she loved.”
Richmond is at least the third Black trans woman to be killed in Chicago this year. In March, beloved community activist Elise Malary was found dead in Lake Michigan after a week-long search for her. In the same month, 33-year-old Tatianna Labelle was also found dead. While the Human Rights Campaign has named Richmond as at least the 20th trans woman to be killed this year, sadly, due to misgendering, deadnaming, and many other factors, that staggering number is still likely an underestimate.
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