Death of Florida Woman Is Second Trans Murder Reported This Week

Celine Walker via Facebook

Celine Walker, 36, was found shot to death in a Jacksonville hotel room.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

February 10 2018 9:10 AM EST

February 10 2018 9:11 AM EST

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A transgender woman was found shot to death at a hotel in Jacksonville, Fla., last Sunday.

Local media identified the 36-year-old victim as a man, but friends said she was a transgender woman, Celine Walker. She was found in one of the rooms at an Extended Stay America hotel about 8 p.m. and pronounced dead at the scene, according to The Florida Times-Union.

Friends posted on Facebook that they called the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to complain about the misgendering of Walker but were told the department does not refer to people as transgender.

"There are several parts of this story that disturb me very much," Naomi Michaels wrote on Facebook. "One is that Jacksonville is home to some of the most amazingly talented Transwomen I know."

She also wrote that Walker "lived a low key life where she did whatever needed to be done in order for her to survive" and "was not a pageant girl" or a clubgoer.

Monica Roberts of TransGriot added that not identifying Walker correctly has likely delayed the investigation of the crime.

So far, four homicides of transgender people have been reported in the U.S. this year, and there have been two just this week, with the death of Tonya Harvey in Buffalo, N.Y., in addition to Walker's murder. Last year's total was 27, matching a record set in 2016. Most were women of color. In any given year, of course, there may be many more homicides than reported, as some victims may have been misgendered by police or media or their deaths not reported at all.