Aidelen Evans, a 24-year-old black trans woman, is the 30th known trans person to have been killed in the US this year. Although Evans was found dead in March, her death has only just been confirmed as a homicide. According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Evans was found dead in Port Arthur, Texas on March 18, and identified on March 25.
After multiple autopsies, it has been confirmed that her death was the result of an act of violence. Lois Balka, Evans’ grandmother, described the situation as “heartbreaking”, adding: “No parent should have to go through this.” Tori Cooper, the HRC director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative also described the loss of Evans as “heartbreaking and infuriating”.
She continued: “Aidelen did not deserve to have her life taken from her — none of the transgender and non-binary people who have been killed deserved to have their lives cut short. The violence that continues to impact transgender and gender non-conforming people, especially black transgender women, must stop.”
In 2020, 44 trans and gender non-conforming people were violently killed in the US, making it the deadliest year on record for trans Americans. A total of 350 trans people were killed globally, the majority of whom were murdered in Brazil, Mexico and the US.
