The Murder of Yazmin Vash Payne (SOLVED)

Yazmin (often spelled Yasmin) Vash Payne was a thirty-three-year old transgender woman who was murdered on January 31, 2015 in a dispute with her twenty-seven-year old boyfriend, Ezekiel Jamal Dear while they were in their Los Angeles, California apartment. To this day it is still unclear what the argument was about. Yazmin was killed by several stab wounds before having the apartment set on fire by Ezekiel.

On February 1 of that year, Dear confessed to the murder after turning himself in to police. Initially charged with murder, by October 2015 Ezekiel was charged with the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter; being found guilty by a jury and sentenced to twelve years and eight months in prison.

Is Taja DeJesus' Murder Technically Solved?

Born on this day in 1975, Taja Gabrielle DeJesus, an activist at Trans Thrive, a non-profit community center in San Francisco was very vocal about issues in the transgender community such as health and disparity. Described by Trans Thrive program manager, Nikki Calma as "always very bubbly and outspoken" Taja was "always the first to volunteer" going on to say "she just wanted to participate in everything." Nikki ends her statement by saying "She (DeJesus) was well-known and will definitely be missed." On February 1, 2015 Taja was found in a Bayview stairwell, murdered by stab wounds on the 1400 block of McKinnon Avenue at nine a.m. in San Francisco, California.

Taja was born in San Jose, California but later moved to San Francisco due to its more accepting nature of LGBT people. Her sister Erika says this was due to "the streets and dance clubs were more tolerant." Described by mother Pamela as "a strong-willed and giving young woman", DeJesus was active as a volunteer at a Bayview church and food pantry in addition to her work with Trans Thrive. 
A fiery and independent person, DeJesus filled out the paperwork at age fifteen-years old to get a job; taking the train without permission to San Francisco just to work. Taja, a music lover, used her earnings to buy her first stereo, a stereo in which would always play either Prince or Madonna.

Police suspect Taja's boyfriend, forty-nine-year old James Hayes of committing the murder, a motive which remains unknown. Unfortunately he committed suicide days later by hanging. James was located a half mile away from where Taja was found, hanging from his neck on a fence behind a warehouse. San Francisco Police Department spokesman, Albie Esparza isn't saying much about the case, except for that they're not ruling it a hate crime.

With all of this being said, Trans True Crime asks "Is Taja's case technically solved?"

The Murder of Penny Proud (UNSOLVED)

Penny Proud was a transgender woman who was fatally shot on February 10, 2015 at 1:30 AM by an unknown assailant in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Police are reporting that the murder occurred in the midst of a robbery on the 1100 block of Claiborne Avenue in the Treme District of New Orleans. No other details have been given about Penny's death and as of the time of this writing, her murder remains unsolved.

The Murder of Kristina Grant Infiniti (UNSOLVED)

Kristina Gomez Reinwald, known professionally as Kristina Grant Infiniti was a forty-six-year old transgender performer, well-known in the LGBT Miami club scene. On February 15, 2015 Kristina was found dead in her Southwest Miami home from what was originally reported by news station, WTVJ as a suicide but was later ruled a homicide by police.

Days before it was concluded by police that she had in fact been murdered, rumors were circulating on social media by trans activists that she was murdered by her boyfriend and or ex-boyfriend. Investigators revealed that there was no forced entry into Kristina's home; suggesting she knew her killer. This makes previous claims of the killer being her (ex)boyfriend plausible.

Shortly after Kristina's death, local trans activists held a candlelight vigil in her honor at the Torch of Friendship, a monument on Biscayne Boulevard at Fourth Street in Miami. As of the time of this writing, Kristina's murder remains unsolved. 

The Murder of Keyshia Blige (UNSOLVED)

On March 7, 2015 thirty-three-year old transgender woman Keyshia Blige was murdered in Chicago, Illinois while driving with a twenty-one-year old male friend. Keyshia, a performer who gravitated towards songs by Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston with some modern hits by Ariana Grande and Beyonce had begun medically transitioning from male-to-female in January of that year and was described by friend, Sasha Love as "the happiest I had ever seen her once she started transitioning".

Despite being murdered in March of that year, it took months for LGBT groups to take notice, as police and local media deadnamed Blige and referred to her by male pronouns. Another report still referred to Keyshia by her given name and pronouns; however they stated that she then-recently started taking hormones to live as a woman. It wasn't until close friend, Sasha Love went to The Guardian with claims that Blige was in fact transgender and was using female pronouns at the time of her death, that LGBT groups began to notice.

Keyshia who was driving the car on the 200 block of LaSalle Street when she was struck in the shoulder by several bullets, was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead. Her friend survived after she tried driving to the hospital once struck, however she collided with a Jeep en route to said hospital. Her Navy Blue car crashed into a parking lot, where paramedics found her and took her to the hospital. Neither the car nor the friend were injured. Media relations manager for the Aurora Police Department, Dan Ferrelli issued a statement saying they are not investigating Blige's death as a hate crime but are investigating other potential leads. They have yet to confirm what these leads are but are saying that the shooting was "not random".

Friends and family say she was friendly to the male passenger; giving him a ride when asked the night before. The friends later said that this was symbolic of the kind of person that she was-helping others in need.

The Murder of London Kiki Chanel (SOLVED)

In May 2015 London Kiki Chanel, a twenty-one-year old transgender woman was murdered at an abandoned house in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Originally from Victoria, Texas, London moved to Pennsylvania several years before her murder; living at Covenant House, an LGBT youth shelter and crisis center in Germantown.

Raheam Felton, a thirty-one year old man plead guilty to third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime. He apologized for the crime. The reasoning for Chanel's murder was that she allegedly "snitched" about Raheam "sexually touching" her the previous year. Both inside an abandoned building on the 2200 block of Ingersoll Street, an argument ensued between the two over London's accusations of sexual assault against Felton. This led Raheam to stab her twice in the back and once in the neck with a pocketknife inside a middle bedroom on the third floor of the building.

Rahaem and an unnamed witness carried Chanel's body out of the house; placing her on the front lawn and onto quilts to perform CPR. The pair saw a School District of Philadelphia officer patrolling the area. They flagged him down, with him calling Philadelphia police, who took both Felton and the witness into custody. While in custody, Raheam confessed to the murder. Chanel was rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after one a.m.

Investigators believe London's murder to be domestic in nature and are not labeling it a hate crime. In June 2016 a judge sentenced Rahaem Felton to twenty-two to forty-four years in prison. 

The Murder of India Clarke (SOLVED)

India Clarke was a transgender aspiring hairdresser who was murdered on July 21, 2015 in Tampa, Florida. Originally reported to have died at a family-friendly park in Tampa from blunt-force trauma, it has been proven that India actually died from a gunshot wound to the head. She also had a gunshot wound to one of her arms but this was most likely not fatal.

It is unclear why Clarke was murdered; however through DNA analysis, her killer was identified quickly as Keith Lamayne Gaillard, an eighteen-year-old man. Keith and India were most likely at the park to have sex as a condom containing semen matching Gaillard's DNA was found in India's car, a 2013 Chevrolet Malibu, parked a short distance away. Shortly after sex, India was killed by Keith; being found hours later by a maintenance worker who was doing some general cleaning of the park and its surrounding areas. The park, University Area Community Center was described as a "family friendly park". Investigators responded; finding Clarke on the ground dead from a gunshot wound to her head. A fingerprint on a cigar wrapper also matched Keith; placing him in India's car, a rental with New York plates; belonging to Hertz Rental Company.

My honest opinion is that India may have been visiting family or friends in Tampa from New York where she may have been residing. While in Florida, she met up with Gaillard, (whom was later revealed to have had a personal relationship with him); meeting him at the park for sex, as neither her hosts' nor Keith's home were private enough for sex. I imagine Clarke may have possibly performed oral sex on Gaillard with a condom. He may have wanted to progress further but a pre or non-operative Clarke refused; leading Keith to discover she was transgender. If this is true, she may have tried running from her car after scratching Keith's neck with her nails. An already armed Keith shot her out of rage, first hitting her arm, then shooting again, hitting her head. No shell casings were found at the scene but he was clueless enough to leave the condom and cigar wrapper behind. It is unknown if this "personal relationship" was strictly online and the night of the murder was the first time they met, or if it been physical between the two in the past.

Keith's DNA was most likely already in the system, probably taken from a previous arrest. When entering the DNA into a police database, it matched with Gaillard's DNA. Police confronted Keith, who had a scratch on his neck consistent with a fight. This adds up with DNA being found under India's fingernails. Clarke was likely shot with a .22 caliber revolver, consistent with one shown in a Facebook picture of Gaillard's. He allegedly sold the murder weapon to a friend for fifty dollars after admitting to the friend that he "may have murdered someone" with it.

Keith Gaillard was charged with first degree murder and possession of a firearm by a career criminal. He is being held on two-hundred seventy-five thousand dollars bond.