Missing Trans Woman Natasha Kieanna Found Dead in Detroit

She had been missing since December 26. The cause of death is under investigation, but family members suspect foul play.

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

January 14 2021 11:06 AM EST

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A Detroit transgender woman who had been missing since December 26 was found dead Wednesday.

The body of Natasha Kieanna, 37, was found in her white Saturn SUV on the city's west side, the Detroit Free Press reports. There were no signs of trauma, police said, but members of her family suspect foul play.

The fact that she was on the passenger side of the vehicle was suspicious, her mother, Bernetha Shelton, told the paper. She also said her daughter had gotten "mixed up with the wrong crowd."

"She was a beautiful person," Shelton added. "She was loved all over."

The Detroit police had issued a missing persons alert for Kieanna January 6. She was found after a man reported that the SUV had been parked in front of his house for two weeks, according to Detroit TV station WJBK. He had called police at least twice before they came out, he said. Shelton also criticized the police's delay.

Police are investigating Kieanna's death, and they ask that anyone with information call the department's Eighth Precinct Investigative Unit at (313) 596-5840 or Crime Stoppers at (800) SPEAK-UP.

Two homicides of trans Americans have already been reported in 2021, and at least 44 died by violence in 2020, the deadliest year on record for this population. Most of the victims were Black or Latinx women.