May 5, 2021
Reports: Tiffany Thomas, Killed in Dallas, Another Victim of Deadly Anti-Trans Violence
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Tiffany Thomas, 38, is reportedly another victim of deadly anti-trans violence. Thomas was found dead of a gunshot wound in Dallas, Texas, the Human Rights Campaign reports.
"Tiffany's death is at least the 19th violent death of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in 2021," the HRC detailed. "We say 'at least' because too often these deaths go unreported – or misreported."
Indeed, news coverage of the slaying suggest that Thomas' April 24 death wasn't reported on right away because her family denied that Thomas identified as transgender.
"Tiffany was found wearing female clothing and was identified by media as a trans woman," noted Pittsburgh LGBTQ news blog PghLESBIAN, "then those tweets were removed until the Dallas PD finally released today the information that she was 'known as Tiffany' while still emphasizing the family denial."
"Tiffany's exact identity may never be known," the blog added. "The trans community welcomes and affirms her under the trans umbrella, acknowledging her death."
Tiffany's death brought to 19 the total number of transgender and gender-nonconforming people who have been murdered or died in suspicious circumstances so far this year, the HRC noted.
The day before Tiffany's killing, 22-year-old Iris Santos was shot to death as she sat at a picnic table outside a Chick-Fil-A in Houston, Texas. In an update on that case, local NBC affiliate Click2Houston reported that police have released footage from a security camera of a man they regard as a suspect in Santos' killing.
As previously reported at EDGE, Boston transgender activist Jahaira DeAlto, a member of the ballroom scene, was killed in her home this past weekend. She was stabbed to death by a man who was reportedly staying with DeAlto, along with his family. The suspect also stabbed his own wife to death in the same attack. That suspect subsequently turned himself in.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
