Transsexual Amanda Milan, 25, Murdered in Manhattan
Verbal Confrontation with Killer Ends with Her Slit Throat
Transgender Community Adopts Black Stripes/Armbands
Compiled By GayToday
New York, New York— Amanda Milan, a beautiful 25-year-old black woman, a transsexual, bid her friends good-bye and was on her way home at 5a.m.on June 21 when she was subjected to gender-slurs shouted by a black man. Although she didn't know him, it was the same man, say witnesses, who'd been verbally harassing Amanda and her transgendered sisters earlier that night. The man yelled such phrases as "You're a man!", and "I know that's a dick you have in between your legs!"
Amanda shouted back at him, and a verbal confrontation ensued. Amanda turned to leave and walked toward a fleet of N.Y. yellow cabs parked along 46th Street. The man was handed a knife by another man, who egged him on. As Amanda was opening a cab door, her sisters and many other witnesses watched helplessly as the man ran up to her from behind and slashed her throat, severing her jugular, before fleeing. While a few bystanders tried to help, several of the yellow cab drivers parked along the street cheered and applauded as Amanda bled to death.
She was conscious for the first two minutes, struggling to breathe through her own blood. She died on the way to St. Vincent's Hospital. Both suspects are in custody, awaiting a grand jury indictment.
One witness said that she is very shaken, but summoning courage will go in front of the grand jury to testify. She has been provided with support at the hearing from the Anti-Violence Project, Metropolitan Gender Network, and from MCC-NY.
She said that the detectives and prosecutors have been treating witnesses with relative respect, but that she gets the impression "they are trying to rush this case through and keep it quiet."
An unidentified newspaper reporter initially showed interest in the story of the brutal slaying of a woman, but not when he learned she was "just a transvestite". This witness and several of her sister sex workers have asked for help from the larger gay and lesbian community. A public funeral has been discussed as a possible action in the coming weeks.
Transgendered activists are meeting to discuss strategy. An announcement e-mailed to friends and allies expresses their alarm:
"Had Amanda Milan not been a woman of transsexual experience, she would be alive today. Instead, she lies next to Marsha P. Johnson, Brandon Teena, and the multitude of America's children slain through hatred and intolerance for just being different, just for being who they were born to be. The time has come to stand together as a community against these gender-based hate crimes! Amanda's murder occurred only hours before the Senate approved the Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA). The HCPA vote will now go to the House where it is NOT expected to pass."
http://gaytoday.badpuppy.com/garchive/events/062600ev.htm **********************
Tracy Thompson, Transgender,
Beaten to Death in Georgia
Blood & Baseball Bat Found
on Rural Road near Interstate
Stumbles into Nearby Farmhouse
and Loses Consciousness
Compiled By GayToday
Wilcox County, Georgia--Tracy Thompson, a 33-year-old transgendered woman died after being beaten to death in Wilcox County last week in the heart of rural Georgia. Authorities are investigating the beating to determine if it is a hate-motivated crime.
Bleeding from her head wounds, Tracy walked the half-mile from the site of the incident to a nearby farmhouse before she lost consciousness. She died at an Albany, Georgia hospital.
"We backtracked where he had walked down the dirt road and found the crime scene," Sheriff Stacy Bloodworth said Wednesday. "In the middle of the road were blood and a partial piece of a baseball bat."
Thompson, also known as Billy Joe Turner and/or Tracy Turner, was wearing blue jeans and a white shirt dotted with pink flowers. Occupants of the farmhouse where she collapsed as well as the Sheriff's deputy who was called to her assistance, all took her at first to be a woman. It was later learned that she was transgendered.
"Possible motives ranged from robbery to a sex-or hate-crime" said Gary Rothwell of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. "We are open to any possibility at this point"
Authorities are not clear how Thompson got to the locale where she was beaten and believe that she may have been taken there from anywhere along the I75 corridor. She was known to travel in southern Georgia but lived in Dalton in the northern part of the state.
"Trans-Action is saddened by the brutal death of Tracy Thompson in Wilcox County Georgia this week" said Kim Ribbans, Communications Director of Trans-Action, Georgia Gender Education & Advocacy.
"While it is not at all clear what the motivation for this crime was, it does highlight the high-risk position that many transgendered people are in and the importance of Senate Bill 153, the Georgia Domestic Terrorism Act, which would provide some measure of protection against those who choose their prey based on hatred for certain groups."
The transgender organization says it has full confidence in authorities who are investigating Tracy's murder as well as what may have motivated it. have called on anyone who knew Tracy to contact them.
Trans-Action urges friends or associates of Tracy Thompson, particularly persons who might know of her recent travels, to contact the GBI or Wilcox County Sheriff's office.
The GBI office in Perry, Georgia: 912-987-4545
24 hour Tips-Line: 1-800-597-TIPS.
The Wilcox County Sheriff's office: 912-467-2322.