Skye Mockabee, a black trans woman, found dead in a Cleveland parking lot

Skye Mockabee, 26-year-old black transgender woman, was found dead in Cleveland on Saturday morning.

Someone found her body in a parking lot at around 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, Cleveland.com reported. She was face down and bleeding from the mouth. Firefighters and EMS said her injuries were suspicious.

Mockabee was originally misgendered and dead named (referred to by her birth name, not the name she identified with) by police and local media.

If police confirm that someone killed her, Mockabee will be the 16th transgender person to be killed in America this year, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects.

“Our hearts, minds and condolences are with Skye’s family, friends, and community in this time of tragedy. All of us at BRAVO are saddened and outraged as our communities continue to be repeatedly targeted and we remain steadfast in providing services to the LGBTQI communities of Ohio,” said Aaron Eckhardt, Training and Technical Assistance Director of the Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization, in a statement. “We must continue to come together as a broad community of support to say hate has no home in Ohio, hate has no home anywhere,” Eckhardt added.

Police have not made any arrests and have not said whether they are investigating Mockabee’s death as a hate crime. The Cleveland Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Her family and friends held a vigil in her memory on Monday night, Cleveland 19 reports.

The news of Mockabee’s death comes less than a month after two other black trans women, Dee Whigham and Deeniquia Dodds, were killed in Mississippi and Washington D.C., respectively.

Last year, the NCVAP’s 2015 LGBTQ hate violence report found a 20% rise in homicides against LGBTQ people between 2014 and 2015. Of the 24 people killed in 2015, 54% were trans women of color.

 
Join the discussion...