CHARLESTON (PM) — Denali Berries Stuckey was assassinated in Charleston, South Carolina early Saturday morning, according to local reports. Trans Griot blogger Monica Roberts, who also reported this death, writes that local media misgendered her in their journalism.
According to North Charleston Police, Stuckey’s corpse was located around 4 a.m. EST on the side of the street. The decedent had a gunshot wound and was 29 years old. ABC News 4 dead named Stuckey in their reporting, noting that the Alliance For Full Acceptance and the Human Rights Campaign recognized her as a transgender woman. The death is being investigated as a homicide, and hate crime charges are not imminent at this time. There are currently no reported leads in her death. A memorial is being planned for the victim in North Charleston for Monday night.
“While the greater community may be either unaware or disinterested in this news, it is important to understand the epidemic of violence against trans women of color and the crisis point at which we are now and have been for years. We refuse to become numb. We will continue to say the names of these women and remember them how they would have wanted to be remembered.”
AFFA Executive Director Chase Glenn
“I am heartbroken and outraged by the news of yet another murder of one of our transgender community members,” the AFFA executive director Chase Glenn said in a statement. “Denali is the third known black trans woman to have been murdered in South Carolina since 2018.”
“We refuse to become numb,” Glenn continued in his statement. “We will continue to say the names of these women and remember them how they would have wanted to be remembered.”
Stuckey is the 12th known trans woman in the United States to have been murdered this year — all who have been killed are black.