The Crime
On March 20, 2024, the body of a Latina trans woman was dumped on a Los Angeles street where she was found by Los Angeles police officers. The cause of her death was a gunshot wound to her head. Her name was Meraxes Medina.
Note that some of the original reporting misgenders Meraxes and refers to by her assigned name.
According to the Los Angeles Blade:
A trans woman believed to be in her early 20s was murdered in the early morning of March 21 near the corner of West 70th and Figueroa Streets, the latest in what appear to be a string of slayings of sex workers in the area. The LAPD are still looking for information and have not yet made any arrests.
The LAPD responded to a call around 4:20 am and found the victim suffering a gunshot wound to the back of the head. She was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Finally, according to the GoFundMe set up by family, “a car was seen fleeing the area and surveillance camera video from a sports bar across the street, captured a light-colored sedan, with its lights off next to the parking lot of a high school.” A figure emerged from the car and dragged the body according to surveillance footage from nearby cameras.
Police had also identified another woman as a victim of a similar crime, shot to death also by a 9 millimeter two days earlier. She was then pronounced dead after being transported to a local hospital. The LA Times noted that another 25-year-old sex worker was killed on nearby Western Ave in February when someone in a vehicle fired a gun at the corner she was standing on. A homeless man was shot in the same incident, but he survived. LAPD does not consider this event to be linked to the other two murders.
A predator stalking sex workers is something we must attend to with all haste. It is far too easy for these women (in this case) to be overlooked because of society’s practice of dehumanizing sex workers.
Honoring Meraxes
Meraxes Medina was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. She had just turned 24 in early February.
She had worked for Universal Studios Hollywood. Meraxes enjoyed shopping, the Jurassic Park series of movies, and had a passion for her work as a makeup artist. She filled her socials with the details of each look carefully tagging the manufacturers. Her attention to such detail both in her artistry and her acknowledgments is a reminder of how much we lose when our trans neighbors are murdered. Meraxas brought beauty to this world.
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Meraxes also admired Shakira and Karol G. In 2021, Meraxes purchased her first new car and was so proud of that milestone. As recently as September, she posted a TikTok where she confronted a man who was trying to take advantage of a young woman who was intoxicated.
FInally, Meraxes used the name ChunLi on her socials, a testament to the character from Street Fighter or the Nicki Minaj song or both.
The Context
First, let me remind you that a predator is hunting sex workers, seemingly focused on women in Los Angeles. There is no word on whether they are targeting the men paying for sex. Not that that would be okay with me, but it would offer some perspective in a terrible situation. These women are working for their living and do not deserve to have another level of terror in their lives.
If you have any “but they are sex workers …” thoughts in your mind, just stop reading. You are not welcome here. No one deserves to be hunted.
Meraxes is the seventh trans person whose violent death reported in 2024 to date. She is the fourth trans woman. Meraxes is the third Latina trans woman. Six out of the seven known victims were BIPOC folx.
At this time last year (2023), I had reported on the deaths of seven individuals, a total we are likely to surpass soon. God help us all.
If you are a sex worker, please take care of yourself. You can reach out to the Sex Workers Outreach Project – Los AnMexageles.
Rest in power, Meraxes. You lived a powerful life with so much attention to beauty, but one far too short. Thank you for the gifts you brought to this world.Thank you for standing up for the young woman last September. Your bravery and sisterhood will change the world.
May we, like Chun-Li, strive for justice and protect. innocence, including young people in all walks of life. That is a powerful lesson you’ve left for all of us.
May your memory be a revolution.
This is our list
This is our list of transgender, nonbinary, and gender nonconforming neighbors who have been victims of the campaign of terror in 2024. Please do not copy, modify, or share this list without attribution.
- Kitty Monroe – January 1, 2024. Phoenix, Arizona. Age 43.
- Nex Benedict – February 8, 2024. Owasso, Oklahoma. Age 16.
- Righteous Torrence ‘TK’ Chevy Hill – February 29, Atlanta. Georgia. Age 35.
- Reyna Hernandez – Between Feb 28 and March 28, location TBD. Age 54.
- Diamond Cherish Brigman – March 16, 2024, Houston, Texas. Age 36.
- Alex Franco – March 19, 2024. Salt Lake City, Utah
- Meraxes Medina – March 19, 2024, Los Angeles, California. Age 24.
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