Equality Florida Mourns Royal Poetical Starz, a Black transgender woman brutally murdered in Miami Gardens
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Equality Florida Mourns Royal Poetical Starz, a Black transgender woman brutally murdered in Miami Gardens
We are heartbroken to share news of the murder of Royal Poetical Starz, a 26-year old Black transgender woman, who was killed in a brutal shooting in Miami Gardens on October 2nd. Royal is the 40th known transgender or nonbinary person murdered this year. Steve Rothaus with South Florida Gay News was one of the first reporters to raise awareness about the horrific news. According to the article, Royal's friend Sandy Fox described her as “the life of the party...everyone loved how Poetical was dressed. They would always comment, ‘Girl, I love that hair.’ Or ‘Girl, I love those nails.’” Royal had also just celebrated her graduation with a business degree in July. Our hearts go out to Royal’s family and friends as they grieve and seek justice during this difficult time. A GoFundMe account has been created to help raise funds for Royal’s funeral back in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-contribute-to-royal-poetical-starz-funeral
Misgendering and dead-naming the victim, Royal, in the Miami Gardens police press release, and a lack of communication from the police to the LGBTQ community, delayed awareness about her murder. We are currently reaching out to family members, friends of Royal, and local trans leaders to see how we can help.
It is strongly encouraged that anyone with any information please contact the Miami Gardens homicide TIP line at 305-471-TIPS (8477) or an anonymous tip can also be given online at https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=139