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Florida police are looking for the motive for the death of a 23-year-old African-American transgender woman, whose body was found in a burning car last week.
The body of Bee Love Slater was found September 4 in Clewiston, 80 km west of West Palm Beach. His remains were so badly burned that it took investigators several days to identify him with the help of dental records.
Investigators from the Hendry County Sheriff's Office told a local television channel that it was one of the most brutal murders ever seen in the county. No suspects or suspects were immediately identified, they said.
According to the Human Rights Campaign, Slater is the 18th transgender person killed in the United States this year. The American Medical Association has described an "epidemic" of violence against transgender people.
The police said she would not describe Slater's death as a hate crime until she could "clearly prove" the reason for the murder.
"We still can not say it's a hate crime because we do not know the motive," Capt Susan Harrelle told ABC-7.
According to initial information, Slater was allegedly tied up and shot dead, but Harrelle reportedly told the Miami Herald "that there was no evidence" to reach such a conclusion, "since the vehicle was burned and that the body was burned without any recognition ".
Slater's friends assumed she had been killed because of her trans identity.
"I think she was targeted because of her lifestyle," said Desmond Vereen, who called himself "Slater's gay mother," at the Herald.
Antorris Williams remembers Slater as a "sweet girl" and told Out magazine that someone was threatening her on Facebook shortly before her death.
"She posted messages saying that she had the impression that people were chasing her after she had attacked and injured her. She had a conversation with one of her best friends on the day of her assassination, saying that she wanted to leave. [the city]," he said.
"She was ready to sleep in her car until she found a job and things like that."
Saturday, the Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke tweeted: "Transgender women of color have been targeted, attacked and murdered across America. We know that 18 transgender people were killed this year alone. If we do not face this reality, we will not be able to correct it. Justice must be done for Bee Love Slater. Equality must be guaranteed for all.
Gina Duncan, Equality Florida's Director of Equality for Transgender, told the Miami Herald: "It's frustrating, it's heartbreaking to see that we continue to witness the absolute killing of transgender people."
Slater's death came shortly after Baily Reeves, 17, was shot dead in Baltimore.
By 2018, at least 26 transgender people have been killed, the majority of whom are trans women. In 2017, 29 such deaths were registered. Many of these killings were clearly brutal.
Tamara Dominguez of Kansas City, Missouri, was hit by a car and crushed several times. KC Haggard of Fresno, California, was stabbed in the neck and left to collapse in the street. Kandis Capri from Phoenix Arizona was shot down.
The public is increasingly sensitized to transgender violence through such personalities as Laverne Cox, who recently proclaimed "the state of emergency" and Caitlyn Jenner, as well as television programs such as than Transparent and Sense8.
But awareness must still lead to coherent legislation for the protection of transgender people. There is no protection at the federal level and the Trump government opposes a law prohibiting employers from discriminating against transgender workers.
Florida's hate crime laws include sexual orientation, but do not include gender identity, excluding transgender people from protection, say LGBTQ rights advocates.
"Our society must work so that trusted people can live without fear," wrote Facebook to the Florida Civil Liberties Union in response to Slater's death.
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