India Clarke Is The 10th Trans Woman To Be Murdered This Year

WCTV reports that 25-year-old Samuel Elija Clarke appeared to have suffered from blunt-force trauma to his upper body. Before her death, Clarke publicly identified as female, used female pronouns, and presented as female in her photos.

“We are not going to categorize him as a transgender. Very loving person”, his mother, Thelma Clarke, told WTSP through tears. “What his lifestyle was prior to that we don’t know – whether he was a cross-dresser, we don’t know”.

The Associated Press violated its own widely-cited guidelines and referred to Clarke as a “man wearing women’s clothing”, referring to her as “Samuel”.

A candlelight vigil is scheduled for Friday at 8 p.m.in Lykes Gaslight Square Park.

“We appreciate that local law enforcement has reached out to community … but it’s critical that they reach out using the actual name and gender identity of the victim”, Chai Jindasurat, NCAVP co-director of community organizing and public advocacy, told the Guardian.

According to the CBS station, relatives say they last saw Clarke Sunday.

According to Hillsborough County jail records, she was arrested in 2013 on charges of prositution and possession of cannabis. Clarke, whose last known address was on Patterson Street, was identified by homicide detectives who noted he was dressed in women’s clothing.

Her murdered body was found this morning in a park in her hometown. The final cause of his death will be determined after the autopsy results.

In Clarke’s case, Detective McKinnon told BuzzFeed News police “don’t have any indication” that Clarke’ s gender identiy was a factor in the homicide. There were other circumstance around the crime scene that I am not at liberty to discuss that leads us to believe this is more related to drugs or prostitution …

India Clarke loved being with family and loved taking selfies, Suzette Clarke said.

Meanwhile, it’s by and large only LGBT news outlets that are reporting on the epidemic of violence trans women – and particularly trans women of color – have faced for years.