The 20th trans person to be killed in the US has been named as Itali Marlowe
Itali Marlowe (L) and her alleged killer, Raymond Williams. (Planet Transgender / Houston Police Department)
The 20th reported killing of a trans person in the US this year alone has been named as Itali Marlowe, who was gunned down and left in a driveway of a home in Houston, Texas last month.
Medics rushed to the scene to save Marlowe, 29, who died of her injuries according to a police bulletin, becoming the fourth trans person to die in Texas this year.
Houston Police charged 23-year-old Raymond Donald Williams, reportedly Marlowe’s roommate, with murder.
Marlowe’s death has rippled across the local trans community, one of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in the country, at a time where transphobic hate crime has rocketed.
What happened?
Patrol officers responded to a shooting call at a residence at 15828 Ridgereoe Lane at 2pm on September 20.
Officers found Marlowe in a driveway of a house in the Ridgemont neighbourhood, a quiet residential area full of bungalows and pizza drive-ins in the outskirts of Houston.
A fatal shooting led to the death of Itali Marlowe in southwest Houston, Texas. (PinkNews)
Marlowe had been sot multiple times, according to detectives, while witnesses reported hearing several gunshots.
Paramedics taxied her to a hospital, but she was after pronounced dead.
Locals tipped homicide detectives that they saw a man, which authorities later identified as Williams, fleeing the scene on foot prior to the police’s arrival.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Raymond Williams is urged to contact the HPD Homicide Division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS.
Itali Marlowe: The fourth reported trans woman killed in Texas this year.
For the fourth time in less than a year, Texas police have addressed swathes of reporters to confirm they were investigating the killing of a trans woman.
Tracy Single lost her life in Houston, where officials splashed City Hall in the colours of the trans Pride flag in her honour.
While Muhlaysia Booker and Chynal Lindsey were both killed in Dallas, a four hour drive upstate from Houston.
‘These victims are not numbers, they were people with hopes and plans’, says HRC.
As well as Marlowe, at least 19 other trans people have been killed in 2019, 18 of which are trans women of colour.
The 20 reported deaths of trans people in the US in 2019. (PinkNews)
Their names are Dana Martin, Jazzaline Ware, Ashanti Carmon, Claire Legato, Muhlaysia Booker, Michelle Washington, Paris Cameron, Chynal Lindsey, Chanel Scurlock, Zoe Spears, Brooklyn Lindsey, Denali Berries Stuckey, Kiki Fantroy and Pebbles LaDime Doe. Tracy Single, Bailey Reeves Bee Love Slater and Elisha Stanley.
The LGBT+ community has also this year mourned Jordan Cofer, a white trans man who was killed in a mass shooting.
However, these numbers understate the problem, activists warn.
Local officials are not required to report killings to central databases in the US, and as authorities may misgender (as they initially did with Marlowe) many trans people’s deaths may go unreported.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) issued a damning statement after Marlowe’s death was confirmed by state police.
“These victims are not numbers,” the statement read, “they were people with hopes and plans, dreams for the future, loved ones and communities who will miss them every day.”
