Transgender woman stabbed to death in Missouri
Local authorities are urging anyone with information on her murder to leave anonymous tips
A transgender woman who was stabbed to death in Missouri appears to be the tenth transgender or gender-nonconforming person killed in the United States this year.
Nina Pop, a 28-year-old employee at a fast food restaurant, was stabbed to death in Sikeston, Missouri on Sunday night.
Officers with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety found Pop’s body Sunday night around 9 p.m. after receiving a call about an unresponsive person at an apartment at 600 S. New Madrid Street.
Officers say it appears Pop was assaulted, and died from injuries sustained in the attack, reports the Cape Girardeau-based CBS affiliate KFVS.
Officer Aceves with the Sikeston DPS told the news station that the apartment complex where Pop’s body was found sees a lot of traffic during all hours. DPS is trying to piece together a timeline of Pop’s movements and have asked anyone with information to contact them, in hopes of finding a suspect.
“If they heard anything, if they saw anyone suspicious, any vehicle that they usually don’t see there, we want to know that information,” Aceves said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sikeston DPS at 573-471-4711 or the Crime Stoppers Hotline at 573-471-1500. All tips can remain anonymous.
The Human Rights Campaign mourned Pop’s death and denounced the mounting death toll of transgender individuals, particularly trans women of color, who have lost their lives to violence in recent years, including five transgender individuals who have been killed in Puerto Rico since February.
“For the past four weeks, we have seen the deaths of five transgender women of color in this country. We are seeing an epidemic of violence that can no longer be ignored,” Tori Cooper, HRC’s Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a statement.
“Transgender and gender non-conforming people, especially trans women of color, risk our lives by living as our true selves — and we are being violently killed for doing so,” Cooper added. “We must be outraged by this news and we must channel that outrage into action immediately. These crimes must be reported, investigated and prosecuted…. What we are doing is not enough.
“HRC mourns alongside all those who know and loved Nina, and we will continue our tireless fight to ensure a future where living one’s truth can never become a death sentence.”
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