Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Hailey Singleton had multiple names. Their trans identity was nuanced and complex. In fact, all identities are, a reality that terrifies some people.

The Crime

On May 5, 2026, Hailey’s body was found along again a dirt road in Dunnellon, Florida. A call was made to 911 around 4 PM. They died from gunshot injuries. No suspect has been identified.

Initial reporting misgendered and deadnamed Hailey. This was not a nuanced response to complex identity. It was the typical binary lens law enforcement clings to in spite of the facts. The media follows suit.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Santana-Palau at 352-368-3548.

Honoring Hailey

They were born in Tucson, Arizona. Hailey attended Palo Verde High School in a career and technical education program. They moved to Florida around 2020. Some social media posts indicate they were considering moving to another city.

According to their socials, Hailey was a fan of cars and art.  They followed several social media influencers.

They are described in loving terms by friends and family as someone who would give the shirt off their back to help someone.

Hailey used the name Mommie Spotsie King. Several media outlets have published their assigned name, but we have chosen not to do so.

The family have established a GoFundMe to help with final expenses.

The GoFundMe explicitly references Hailey’s disability status “including a developmental disability and the struggle to regain Social Security disability payments.” The intersection of disability and trans identity are not often explored, but we have had some terrible examples such as Morgan Moore and Kathryn Newhouse both in 2022. In 2024, the story of Kassim Omar also highlights the need for solid reporting. Also in 2022, two disabled trans folx were shot to death by police in the midst of their respective mental health crisis – the incident were not related. Their names were Maddie Hofman and Aaron Lynch.

Having gone through the Social Security disability process myself, I cannot begin to fathom the challenges and barriers for a disabled trans person to restore benefits right now. These systems were horrible under ‘good’ Administrations so I just can’t imagine now.

Hailey’s whole identity should be celebrated and acknowledged.

Context

Hailey is the sixth trans person whose violent death has been reported in the US during 2026. I have no doubt there have been other violent deaths, they are just hidden for reasons I laid out earlier. It is on all of us to honor those who lives were taken in shadows, in silence, and under cover of anti-trans bias.

They are the third white person on our list. We do not have more specifics about Hailey’s identity.

Florida is not a safe place for trans folx. Others lost there include Andrea Doria Dos Passos  and Monique Brooks in 2024; Camdyn Rider, London Price and Alexa Sokova in 2023. Duval Princess,, Nedra Sequence Moss, Semaj Billingslea, and Tiffany Banks were killed in 2022. In 2021, Alexus “Kimmy” Braxton, Keri Washington, Jenny De Leon  and Royal Poetical Starz. Back in 2020, Tony McDade, Bree Black, and Skylar Heath. And in 2019, Bee Love lost her life. In 2018, we reported on the deaths of Celine Walker, Karla Patricia Pavon-Flores, Sasha Garden and Londonn Moore.

I noticed a very troubling reference in in the online reporting of  tv station WCJB20. It takes me back many years to my early days of memorializing.

“Deputies say Singleton had been in trouble with the law several times over many years on a variety of misdemeanors or felonies, but investigators say he was not currently wanted for any crime.”

There is zero indication that Hailey’s criminal history has anything to do with their death. This is not a fact that needs to be shared by the media as it offers not a whit of insight. Except… Except reinforcing the myth that antisocial behavior of trans folx is common, something that  has historically been a media ploy to sensationalize the story and imply that her conduct was to blame. She brought it on herself?

If evidence indicated that any aspect of their life was pertinent, then share the information. Otherwise, do not use that to fill the story with quasi-factual pretensions. Just that one sentence shifts the narrative from investigating Hailey’s death to questioning Hailey’s culpability in their own shooting death.

Trans journalist Monica Roberts created a media fail checklist to describe the state of media affairs reporting on antii-trans violence circa 2013. Misgendering deadnaming are still common place. Dredging up the victim’s criminal history for no actual reason was on her list. I haven’t come across the particular form of media failure in awhile.

But I did come across a trans man being erased from the story of his murder. And evidence of the death of trans woman just completely overlooked. In 2025, the vicious death of a US resident and trans man in the Dominion Republic was never acknowledged,

My suspicion is that media overall is reversing course on this important reporting, It is more of a concern, an instinct, even a hint at this time. That’s because there has been so little reporting on fatal anti-trans violence in the US in 2026. It is just unheard of that we’ve been notified of six such deaths in mid-May. No one who does this work believes that is remotely accurate.

The Trans United Fund dove into this deeply disturbing trend in a recent post about the death of Daniella Analee Escobedo. It is a thoughtful essay I read a few hours before I began this post. Perhaps that’s why the sentence about Hailey’s criminal record jumped out at me.

That insistence matters because erasure rarely begins with an announcement. It begins with thinning. Fewer details. Less coverage. More confusion. More dependence on rumor. Less follow-up. More gaps. A trans woman disappears not only when no one says her name, but when the systems that should hold her life and death in view prove too weak, too biased, or too indifferent to do the work.

For the readers in the back – Hailey was a victim of gun violence. There’s been no suggestion it was a fair fight between two guns. With a dearth of facts to report about the crime, report about Hailey in a fair and balanced manner, don’t sensationalize with unrelated information.

Rest in power, Hailey. The grief of your friends and loved ones is the clearest evidence of the true impact of your life – you were loved fiercely. Thank you for all the energy, creativity, and joy you brought. I am so very sorry we have not created a safer world for you.

May your memory be a revolution.

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Deaths reported in 2026

These individuals are part of the trans community including transgender, nonbinary, gender nonconforming, and gender creative folx. Please do not share this content without attribution. Thank you

1. Shyyell Diamond Sanchez-Mccray – Petersburg, Virginia. March 13, 2026. Age 42.
2. Davonta Curtis – Chicago, Illinois. April 5, 2026. Age 32.
3. Dannielle Spillman – San Francisco, California. April 16, 2026. Age 74.
4. Aleanna Royal Belcher – Binghamton, New York. April 17, 2026. Age 31.
5. Lucas Redbeard Knapp – Candy Kitchen, Cibola County, New Mexico, April 18, 2026. Age 39.
6. Hailey Singleton – Dunnellton, Florida, May 5, 2026. Age 29.

Other Deaths

We are following these cases, but cannot confirm the details right now.

1. Daniella Analee Escobedo – Las Vegas, Nevada (unconfirmed), April 12, 2026. Age 34.