Investigators said she might have been working as a prostitute at a Rockville, Maryland hotel
BREAKING NEWS:
With no permanent place to live — and going from hotel to hotel — Keyonna Blakeney seemed poised to gain some stability. The 22-year-old had rented an apartment, her sister said, and was planning to move in at the end of this month. But before that move happened, Blakeney was killed early Saturday morning in her room at the Red Roof Inn in Rockville, authorities said Monday. Police identified her as a transgender woman and said she may have been engaged in prostitution when she was killed. “Detectives have been working around the clock on this case,” said Capt. Paul Starks, a Montgomery County police spokesman. “We need anyone with information regarding the murder of Keyonna to contact us.” Starks declined to say how Blakeney was killed, other than saying that she suffered trauma to her upper body. “Someone out there is evil who did this,” Blakeney’s father, Kenny Linton, said in an interview Monday. “My son (sic) was, is, very special. He was kindhearted. He was down-to-earth. He would give you his last if he had it..."
This was posted about seven hours ago; note that the article keeps shifting between male and female pronouns and the deadname was mentioned. The Washington Blade's reportage is here. Her Facebook page is over here; a GoFundMe for memorial expenses is there. This was the second murder of a trans woman this year in the DC Metro area. And yes, she was African-American and yes, The TransGriot is raising holy hell again. Time for the hashtags ––
#SayHerName #HerNameWasKeyonna #MurderedWhileTrans #BlackTransLivesMatter