Transmasculine lives are precious on TDORR and year-round. We at TransLash strive to create a safe space for our transmasc community members: sharing their diverse stories and experiences and doing our best to listen to their needs.
We’ve created this space to honor and remember the transmasc and nonbinary siblings we have lost so far in 2023 to anti-trans violence, intimate partner violence, oppression, and mysterious circumstances. TRIGGER WARNING: trans death.
TRANSMASC DEATHS IN 2023
By Daniela “Dani” Capistrano and Alex Guerra
As first reported by pghlesbian.com, we have lost 38 known TGNC siblings in the United States in 2023. Some mainstream news outlets continue to fetishize our deaths for clickbait and comments; deadnaming and dehumanizing our community. Transmasc people are often treated like an afterthought.
With this memorial page we remember the 7 known transmasc and nonbinary siblings who were taken from us this year. We say known because trans people are often misgendered and deadnamed for months and even years by mainstream media, our stories often going unreported for months and years after our deaths. Trans lives continue to matter even when the media erases us.
We thank HRC, Them, Advocate, Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents, @TDORINFO, and others for their dedication to reporting on trans lives and deaths with respect and accuracy. We have linked to these sources below.
As you learn about our young trancestors’ lives and their deaths, please take the time you need to step away and care for yourself; these stories are triggering.
Dominic Dupree, also known as Dominic Palace
PRONOUNS: Dominic used multiple pronouns on publicly visible social media.
AGE: 25
WHERE HE’S FROM: Gary, Indiana
WHERE HE DIED: Chicago, Illinois
CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: October 13, 2023
CAUSE OF DEATH: Shot
Dominic Palace Dupree was inside his vehicle in a Chicago alley around 10:46 p.m. when gunfire broke out, according to police. They were struck multiple times throughout the body and pronounced dead at the scene. Dominic was a graduate of Thea Bowman Leadership Academy and an accomplished entrepreneur who owned two businesses: Private Protection Division LLC in Gary as well as Hondo IV Lawncare & Snow Removal LLC.
“Dominic had an entrepreneurial spirit and was passionate about providing services to help others. Dominic was only 25, loved by so many people and surely had so much more to give.” – Tori Cooper, Human Rights Campaign Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative
Dominic’s family has set up a crowdfund for funeral expenses. The page uses their name assigned at birth and male pronouns.
SOURCE: HRC and Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
Luis Ángel Díaz Castro
PRONOUNS: He/Him
AGE: 22
WHERE HE’S FROM: Bayamon, Puerto Rico
WHERE HE DIED: San Juan, Puerto Rico
CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: August 12, 2023
CAUSE OF DEATH: Intimate partner violence
Luis Ángel Díaz Castro’s mother knew her son was missing; she told police that Luis had recently reported his ex-partner Domingo Rafael Aquino Ubri for domestic violence. She gave permission for them to search his apartment. Police ultimately found Luis’ body decomposed in his ex-boyfriend’s closet.
Díaz Castro was killed the day after his abuser was released.
After graduating from Luis Muñoz Rivera High School, Luis Ángel went on to study at Universidad de Puerto Rico en Arecibo and was working for the Department of Education at the time of his death.
His family remembers him for his love of music, with Hector Maysonet and Chema y JohnD as his favorite musicians.
For more information on the impact of intimate partner violence on the trans community, click here.
SOURCE: Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
Camdyn Rider
PRONOUNS: He/Him and They/Them
AGE: 21
WHERE THEY’RE FROM: Orlando, Florida
WHERE HE DIED: Winter Haven, Florida
CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: July 21, 2023
CAUSE OF DEATH: Intimate partner violence
Camdyn Rider was shot and killed by their partner. Camdyn was pregnant with his first child at the time of the shooting. He had taken to social media to share just how excited they were about having a baby boy that was due in August.
People remember Camdyn for his humor, wit, and wry observations as well as his love for traveling, concerts, camping, photography, art, music, and books.
Trans people are disproportionately likely to experience intimate partner violence (IPV), according to the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey
SOURCE: Them
Jacob Williamson
PRONOUNS: He/Him
AGE: 18
WHERE HE’S FROM: Laurens, South Carolina
WHERE HE DIED: Monroe, South Carolina
CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: July 4, 2023
CAUSE OF DEATH: Intimate partner violence
According to Union County sheriff’s deputies, in that last month and a half before his death, Jacob began an online relationship with Joshua Newton from Monroe. They said Newton picked up Williamson for a date on June 30, then brought Williamson back to a home on Bethpage Lane in Monroe, where they believe he killed Williamson.
At age 18, Jacob was the youngest trans masculine person taken from us so far in 2023. A month and a half before his murder, he had finally begun to experience his authentic life: socially transitioning and moving in with supportive friends after his own family failed to accept him. He had recently begun working at a local Waffle House restaurant.
“This world was so cruel to Jacob his entire life. I find peace in knowing that in the last month and a half, he found peace.”– Promise Edwards, Williamson’s close friend and coworker
SOURCE: Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
Banko Brown, also known as Banko Paso
PRONOUNS: He/Him
AGE: 24
WHERE HE’S FROM: San Francisco, CA
WHERE HE DIED: San Francisco, CA
CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: April 27, 2023
CAUSE OF DEATH: Shot
Banko Brown was fatally shot by a security guard in a San Francisco Walgreens. He was the first transmasc death to be reported in the US this year.
The Young Women’s Freedom Center, a San Francisco nonprofit that provides support for young women and trans youth of all genders, identified Banko as a community organizing intern for the nonprofit. He had been involved with the organization since he was just 12 years old and was currently serving as a community organizing intern. His work involved street assessments during the pandemic.
People closest to him remember him as bold and funny. Julia Arroyo, the co-executive director of the Young Women’s Freedom Center said that Banko “was brilliant and made everyone laugh.”
“He reached my heart, Arroyo said. “He really did reach my heart. He was so funny and he was bold too, he knew what he was striving for.”
Detectives with the San Francisco Police Department Homicide Department arrested a suspect on April 27, identified as 33-year-old Michael Earl-Wayne Anthony. He has been charged with homicide. In October, San Francisco supervisors unanimously passed a law that limits private security guards’ right to wield a firearm, drafted in response to Banko’s violent death.
SOURCE: SFNews deadnamed Banko in their reporting so we aren’t linking to them here. Additional source: Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents.
Tortuguita, also known as Manuel Esteban Paez Terán
PRONOUNS: They/Them
AGE: 26
WHERE THEY’RE FROM: Venezuela
WHERE THEY DIED: Atlanta, GA
CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: January 18, 2023
CAUSE OF DEATH: Shot
Tortuguita was shot and killed in Atlanta, GA. They were the first nonbinary person and first Indigenous person to be reported shot and killed in the US in 2023. In August, NBC News reported that Tortuguita was a protester who opposed construction of a vast law enforcement training center near Atlanta. They were shot at least 57 times in a police confrontation, an autopsy revealed.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Tortuguita is alleged to have shot and wounded a state trooper, and then officers opened fire. Relatives and friends have insisted that Tortuguita had their hands raised and was no threat to police.
“We are devastated to learn that our child, our sweet Manny, was mercilessly gunned down by police and suffered 57 bullet wounds all over their body,” Tortuguita’s mother, Belkis Teran, said in a statement.
The family and its representatives said they still have too many unanswered questions.
“We cannot even begin to determine what happened on the morning of January 18 until the GBI releases its investigation,” family attorney Brian Spears said in a statement.
After attending FSU’s Panama Campus from 2016 to 2019, Tortuguita attended school in Tallahassee from January 2020 to April 2021. They later graduated in December 2021 with a B.S. in Psychology. Tortuguita divided their time between Atlanta and Florida where they helped build housing in historically marginalized communities. They were a passionate environmental activist and forest defender.
Tortuguita was a trained medic, loving partner, dear friend, a brave soul, and so much more, according to their closest friends. Their mom stated they “loved the forest, they meditated there, the forest connected them with God…I never thought that [Tortuguita] could die in a meditation position. My heart is destroyed.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family.
SOURCE: NBC News
Dacoda ‘Codii’ Lawrence
PRONOUNS: He/Him
AGE: 25
WHERE HE’S FROM: Steubenville, Ohio
WHERE HE DIED: Weirton, Brooke County, West Virginia
CONFIRMED DEATH DATE: September 5, 2023
CAUSE OF DEATH: car accident, with whisperings that Codii was not alone.
Dacoda ‘Codii’ Lawrence was struck by a vehicle on September 5, 2023, in Weirton, Brooke County, West Virginia. The driver responsible surrendered to the police immediately and is co-operating with the authorities.
Codii graduated from Indian Creek High School and most recently had worked as a cook at a Steubenville restaurant. Codii enjoyed music, tv shows, books, games, and hanging out with his friends.
Friends and family describe Codii as “the most genuine and caring human being” and said “his smile was contagious”. A GoFundMe has been set up to support the family.
SOURCE: Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
Explore our guide to TDORR, which includes global trans deaths statistics. We will continue to update this 2023 Transmasc Memorial page; if you know of a transmasc and/or nonbinary person we missed, please let us know. We will confirm details and make the update, crediting you as the tip source with your consent. Thank you.
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