Transgender Woman Found Dead in El Paso

Erykah Tijerina, a transgender woman, was found dead in her El Paso, Texas, apartment last week. Police say "there were obvious signs of foul play."

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) reports that, “Erykah Tijerina, a transgender woman, was found dead on Monday in her El Paso apartment. A brief from a local news outlet, KFOX14, said that police observed ‘obvious signs of foul play.’”

Tijerina was 36. In an interview with KFOX14, her sisters described her as “funny, giving and unapologetic about the person she was.” Friends in El Paso’s transgender community expressed shock and sorrow over Tijerina’s death.

Tijerina is at least the 16th transgender person murdered in the U.S. since January. Over 80 percent of those killed have been women and about 20 percent, including Tijerina, have been Latinas.

Addressing Anti-Transgender Violence, released in 2015 by the HRC and the Trans People of Color Coalition, calls on policymakers, advocates and allies to address the crisis of violence against transgender people.

A Saturday night vigil for Tijerina is planned at El Paso’s EDGE nightclub.

To learn more about HRC’s work to address the safety and well-being of transgender people, visit http://www.hrc.org/transgender.


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