Phoenix trans Latina woman Kitty Monroe run over and killed by a truck

Author: Trudy Ring

Kitty Monroe, a 43-year-old transgender Latina, was killed January 1 in Phoenix, run over with a truck driven by a man who had been chasing her.

Monroe is the first trans person known to have died by violence in the U.S. this year.

She was being chased by a man and a woman in the parking lot of a liquor store, Casa de Licores, about 2 a.m. New Year’s Day, The Arizona Republic reports. The man hit her in the back with a gun, and she fell to the ground. He then ran over her with his truck, and he and the woman left the scene. Another vehicle accidentally hit Monroe.

“I wouldn’t doubt that it would be a possibility” that Monroe was targeted for being trans, her sister Brissa Lugo told the Republic.

The Republic deadnamed Monroe and used male pronouns for her on the advice of the family. However, in a YouTube video interview posted last year, it was clear she wanted to be seen as a woman, although she said she wasn’t particular about pronouns. The Advocate will use female pronouns to respect her identity.

“I’m not afraid to exist, but I’m afraid of what other people would see,” she said in the video. “I’m afraid of what their perception of me is.”

Monroe grew up in Phoenix; her parents were immigrants from Mexico,Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondentsreports. She had lived on the streets at times and had been attacked previously, once in Los Angeles and once in Phoenix, suffering a broken jaw both times, she said in the video. But she came home to assist her mother, who had developed symptoms of dementia, her sister said.

Monroe was known for her distinctive fashion sense and her “protective” and “loving” nature, Brissa Lugo noted. She was the “main character” wherever she went, Lugo said.

The family has organized fundraising events and set up a GoFundMe page to help pay for funeral and burial expenses. Phoenix police are continuing to investigate her death.

Original Article on The Advocate
Author: Trudy Ring