25-Year-Old Black Transgender Woman Murdered on Christmas Day
A young black transgender woman was fatally shot on Christmas Day in Chicago. Her loved ones believe that it was a hate crime.
Courtney “Eshay” Key was initially believed to be a victim of a hit-and-run crash, however, upon further investigation, she was discovered to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
To add salt to the wound, police initially reported that the victim was a man and an unidentifiable “John Doe.”
Beverly Ross who is a close friend of Courtneys spoke to CBS2: “We are human. We are real. We’re tired of Chicago police misgendering trans people, gender non-conforming people.
“They’re dehumanising our character.”
Courtney us still identified as a male in the police system. The CPD say they are currently investigating the homicide, but do not think that it is a hate crime despite the family’s beliefs.
“I believe Eshay was targeted,” Ross added. “We need to get to the bottom of this because Black trans lives matter. We are not going anywhere.”
Key is now the 43rd transgender person to be been murdered in the United States in 2020 alone. The majority of the victims are Black or Latinx.