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Crime

Transgender Woman Murdered in Chicago

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Dejanay Stanton was shot in the head and left for dead in an alley.

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A transgender woman identified by friends as Dejanay Stanton was murdered on Chicago's south side Thursday.

Stanton was found in an alley about 12:30 a.m., Chicago police told Windy City Times. They were responding to reports of gunshots in the area, and they found she had been shot in the head. She was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Police referred to her as "Jane Doe," but friends who saw her photo on social media identified her as Dejanay Stanton Thursday evening, according to Windy City Times.

"So we lost another sister here in Chicago. Sending her family and loved ones peace and justice! Rest in power, Dejanay Stanton," LaSaia Wade, executive director of Brave Space Alliance, wrote on Facebook:

"She was so sweet. Every time you saw her she had a smile on her face," Wade continued. "She was just trying to live her best life as a young girl."

Friends plan to remember her with a balloon release tonight at 7:30 at the crime scene. Police are continuing to search for a suspect, Windy City Times reports.

Stanton is the 17th transgender American known to have been murdered this year. The total is likely higher, given that some victims are misgendered in death or their murders not reported at all.

[RELATED: These Are the Trans People Killed in 2018]

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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.
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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