|
Stephanie Thomas, 19, & Ukea Davis, 18, Were Best Friends Vigil Held Last Night by a Coalition of Groups in the Capital
The two friends perished in a merciless hail of bullets, their bodies riddled with "at least 10 bullet wounds each" according to a report in the Washington Post. The police, reportedly, have few leads. A witness, however, is said to have seen a man shooting repeatedly into the Camry. He then fled in what appeared to be a Ford Crown Victoria. The bodies of the two teens were found around 3:25 a.m. The D.C. police department's gay and lesbian liaison, Sergeant Brett Parson, told reporters that the shooting, considering the number of rounds fired, looked to him as if there had been a personal motive involved rather than, say, a robbery or some such performed by strangers. The police department, he said, is also considering the possibility of a hate crime. The murders occurred within the block where Ms. Thomas lived. Queen Washington, her mother, said the two friends were likely to have been returning from a nearby gas station when they were attacked. Ms. Thomas and Ms. Davis had become friends during their mid-teens, having met at a transgender counseling service. As feminine-appearing males, they had suffered beatings by neighborhood toughs who considered them gay. Ms. Davis' grandmother told the Post that when dressed in boywear Ms. Davis had been jumped each time she went to the market. Thus, by living full time dressed as convincing-looking women, Ms. Davis and Ms. Thomas found they could escape the ire of local yokels. Rochelle Davis, Ms. Davis' 17 year old sister, said she was sure Ms. Davis had always been "up front" about admitting her biological gender to any would-be boyfriends. The two murdereed friends were said to have easily sparked the admiration of passing males. Post reporter David A. Fahrenthold writes that Ms. Davis' grandmother, unlike the younger members of her family, had disapproved of cross-dressing which, she believed had, for her grandchild, become a "habit" copied from too much watching of the Ricki Lake Show. But Ms. Davis stood up to her grandmother: "Mama, you can't tell a person how to live your life." There was a 7:00 p.m. vigil / speakout last night at the intersection of 50th and C Streets, Southeast, attended by community members eager to remember and to speak out about the violent murders of young Stephanie Thomas and Ukea Davis. Various organizations, including local groups, that sponsored and organized the event, were Transgender Health Empowerment, Us Helping Us, Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League, Gay and Lesbian Activist Alliance, Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive (HIPS) and national groups the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, the Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. Both community members and organizational representatives spoke. |
Washington, D.C.-Two friends, transgender teenagers, died together yesterday, their
murder called "unusually violent" by D.C. police. Stephanie Thomas, 19, and Ukea
Davis, 18, were found in the front seat of a Toyota Camry in the early hours of the morning
at 50th & C streets Southeast. The Camry belonged to Ms. Thomas.
© 1997-2002 BEI
The sexual orientation of individuals pictured in and writers for
Gay Today should not be assumed.