Trans Woman in Florida Found Burned to Death

Last Thursday, Fort Myers, Fla., police uncovered the burnt remains of 31-year-old transgender woman Yaz'min Shancez. Shancez was discovered behind a garbage bin at a rental facility located at 2807 Fowler Street in Fort Myers.

Local police are reluctant to label the death a hate crime, and when asked by Naples Daily News, GLAAD spokesman Ross Murray could neither confirm nor deny whether or not this incident qualified as a hate crime, only saying that "no one deserves to be violently murdered and set on fire and put behind a dumpster."

Transgender women of color such as Shancez typically find themselves in the most vulnerable category of anti-LGBT hate violence.

Of the 18 reported anti-LGBTQ homicides in 2013, 89 percent of the victims were people of color, and 72 percent were transgender women.

Friends and family are in the process of crowdfunding funeral costs in hopes of providing Shancez a proper burial.

Those with information on the death of Shancez are urged to call the Fort Myers Police Department at 239-321-7700.