Trans Woman Sherlyn Marjorie Killed in Albuquerque, Her Former Partner Charged With Murder

Sherlyn Marjorie, a Latina transgender woman and popular drag performer, was killed in Albuquerque, N.M., in September, and now her former intimate partner has been charged with murder.

Marjorie, 35, was last seen alive September 16, the Albuquerque Journal reports. Her friends said she had planned to meet a man the following day, but they didn’t know his identity. They reported her missing September 24, and family and friends found her body two days later in a drainage tunnel. She had been beaten to death, and her body wrapped in tape and plastic. Earlier, a search party had found her car abandoned at a gas station.

Police arrested Jose Mendoza-Espinoza, 29, October 11. He is charged with murder and tampering with evidence, according to the Journal. Her death was only lightly reported before his arrest. The GPS on Marjorie’s car led police to a trailer park, and surveillance video footage from the park showed a man meeting with her outside a mobile home owned by Mendoza-Espinoza’s wife.

Marjorie and Mendoza-Espinoza had been in a relationship for two to three years, he told police, and he knew she was trans. “Mendoza-Espinoza allegedly told detectives he killed Marjorie after she tried to extort him for money and tell his wife about the affair, according to court records,” the paper reports. “There was no corroborating evidence backing up the extortion claims provided in court records.”

He told detectives the two of them had sex September 17 and she then asked for money once more. He said he “flipped out” and beat her to death, and he left her body in the tunnel and took her car to the gas station.

Prosecutors said Mendoza-Espinoza is a “dangerous individual” and have asked a court to order that he stay in jail until the trial, the Journal notes. Police do not consider Marjorie’s death an anti-trans hate crime.

Marjorie’s loved ones are remembering her fondly. “I was still hopeful that they would find you alive cousin,” one wrote on social media. “It’s sad that it’s not like that. R.I.P. Sherlyn Marjorie. The best impersonator in Tijuana, my second Edith Marquez.” Marquez is a well-known Mexican actress and singer. Marjorie had lived in Tijuana, Mexico City, and California in addition to Albuquerque, according to Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents. She had given one last performance the night she vanished, the site reports.

Another commenter posted, “I will miss your shows on stages, but ... I am sure you will shine up there forever and ever.”

Marjorie’s friends created a memorial near where she was found, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondentsreports. They also organized a benefit tribute show and a car wash to raise money for her funeral expenses.

More than 20 trans, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming people have died by violence in the U.S. this year. This community is disproportionately affected by intimate partner violence, the Human Rights Campaign notes. An HRC Foundation report on fatal violence against this population found that between 2013 and 2022, among those whose killers were known, 29 percent of the killers were someone the victim knew.

“Sherlyn Marjorie brought so much joy to those who knew her, but she was killed by an intimate partner – a tragedy we see far too often in our community,” Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for HRC’s Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a press release. “Our love goes out to all those who are grieving Sherlyn’s death. Transgender and nonbinary people deserve healthy, loving relationships — full stop.”

If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, there is help available. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 800-799-7233. Other resources can be found here.