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Celine Walker is the 4th trans woman murdered in the United States in 2018

Written by gaytourism

Celine Walker, 36, is the 4th trans woman to be murdered in the US this year

Celine Walker, age 36, became the fourth transgender person murdered in the United States in 2018.

Walker was found dead from a gunshot wound in a Jacksonville, Florida motel room. She was pronounced dead at the scene on Sunday, 4 February.

Why it matters

According to PghLesbian Correspondents, a Pittsburgh-based LGBTI blog, Walker was the third trans woman of color and second black trans woman to be killed in the country this year.

Walker’s death is the second reported murder of a trans person within a week.

The police misgendering and deadnaming Walker caused the announcement of her death to be delayed a week. Initial reports of the incident also misgendered and deadnamed Walker.

Reactions

‘The reason the media has misgendered her is because it started with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, who is claiming they have a policy that does not refer to victims as transgender,’ writes blogger TransGriot. ‘Well Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department, y’all need to deal with the reality that trans people exists, because it was not only disrespectful to refer to Celine as a man, not stating from the outset that a transgender female was murdered (see how easy that was Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office) has delayed your investigation.’

‘Celine was not a pageant girl. She didn’t even enjoy going to gay clubs or events,’ Walker’s friend, Naomi Michaels, wrote on Facebook.

‘There are several parts of this story that disturb me very much. One is that Jacksonville is home to some of the most amazingly talented Transwomen I know. That being said you’d think that this city could have some type of policy for dealing with the death and murder of transpeople. They don’t,’ Michaels said.

How can I help?

Police ask that anyone with information about Walker’s death contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at +1 (904) 630-0500, or via email at [email protected], or contact First Coast Crime Stoppers at +1 (866) 845-8477 (TIPS).

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