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Officers from the Dallas Police Department have asked the FBI for help in investigating a series of unsolved murders involving transgender victims.
The ministry announced the announcement on Monday by opening an investigation into the death of a transgender woman whose body had been found in a lake over the weekend, adding to a growing number of unsolved crimes targeting transgender women black people across the country.
The Campaign for Human Rights has recorded at least 136 transgender deaths since 2013 due to fatal violence, most of the victims being black transgender women, but the organization said the violence was difficult to trace because of bad habits and transphobia. The actual number of murders could be much higher, the organization said.
The Dallas Police Department
Investigators said they found Chynal Lindsay's body in White Rock Lake on Saturday, less than a month after another black transgender woman, Muhlaysia Booker, 22, was found shot dead in the city.
Police did not reveal any presumed cause of Lindsay's death, but Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall said his body was "showing obvious signs of homicide."
"The Dallas Police Service has contacted the FBI because, as we know, this is the second transgender individual, deceased in our community," Hall said at a press conference Monday. "We are worried, we are actively and aggressively investigating this case. And we contacted our federal partners to help us with these efforts. "
Cory Clark / NurPhoto via Getty Images
At a press conference last week, Dallas Police Major Vincent Weddington said the ministry was investigating whether Booker 's murder was a hate – motivated crime, or whether it was a crime. it could be linked to two other attacks on transgender black women in the region. Brittany White, 29, was shot in her car in southeast Dallas in October 2018 and another transgender woman was nearly stabbed to death in April.
The police had yet to reveal any trail in the cases, but Ms Hall said she was counting on Dallas residents to help the investigators resolve the "tragic" cases.
"We are asking for help from our community in this tragic event," she said, referring to Lindsay's case. "We do not have all the answers and we are looking for a community if you have information about where she was last seen, with whom she left, with whom she had contacts Frequent, we ask you to contact the Dallas Police. department."
Cory Clark / NurPhoto via Getty Images
Lindsay's death comes less than a week after Booker's family put the young woman to rest in Dallas. Booker gained national notoriety earlier this year when she denounced a group of men who brutally attacked her by shouting transphobic insults.
A video of Booker attracted national attention in April when it was distributed online. It shows that several men brutally hit the parking lot of an apartment building to the applause of the crowd.
Booker, who suffered a concussion and a wrist fractured during the gruesome beating, said she was lucky to have survived.
"It has been a difficult week for myself, the transgender community and the city of Dallas," said Booker at a press conference in April. "This time, I can stand in front of you … while in other scenarios, we are at a memorial."
An FBI spokeswoman told ABC News that the office was "ready to help" when it became apparent that there might be "a potential violation of civil rights by the federal government".
"The FBI is committed to investigating all crimes committed by the federal government and providing assistance to its local partners when asked," said the spokesperson. "We will continue to work with the Dallas Police Department as well as with all of our community partners to address any concerns that may arise if, during the course of the local investigation, information reveals a potential violation of civil rights." by the federal government, the FBI is ready to help. "
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