Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

She loved Anthrocon and Pittsburgh where she was known as
Chlugsy

The Crime

Maine was the scene of a recent terrible tragedy. A stranger stabbed a 21-year-old trans woman to death. It happened while she was hiking with friends. Her name was Juju Nadeau.

Juju Nadeau was showing her friends a special spot along a trail she frequented. Glen Rodney, 58, allegedly approached the group wielding a knife. He stabbed Juju in the chest. Her friends tried to pull him away while calling 911. Police say her body was found on the breakdown lane of I-295. Juju died later at a nearby hospital.

Rodney is being held without bail on murder charges.

Honoring Juju

Juju had a strong affection for Pittsburgh, regularly attending the Anthrocon convention in the summer months. Her friend said Juju especially loved “the waterways.” Her fursona was chlugsy.

them has a lovely write-up of Juju’s life and her passions.

“We would literally spend thousands of dollars to go to Anthrocon and we would barely even be in the convention itself because she just wanted to be at the waterfront all day,” DeWitt tells Them. It’s at conventions like Anthrocon that Nadeau would hold court, dance all night with her friends, and leave lasting impressions on even the people who she interacted with just once.

In a sad Pittsburgh connection, her partner Kasper DeWitt was planning to propose to her at Anthrocon 2027.

GayNews also shared some beautiful sentiments

Nadeau collected pins on her backpack and wore her clothes until they were tattered. White hat, knee-high Converse, an armful of handmade bracelets. She worked at the McDonald’s in Saco. She was a furry, and the fursuit she became known for was a pink, green and white hyena she named Chlugsy, bought secondhand at a Halloween-themed convention in Stamford, Connecticut in 2024 and sewn back together again and again.

She was young, creative, hard-working, curious, beloved, and brave. She did not deserve this death, she deserved a thousand lifetimes.

Context

Juju Nadeau is the 27th person whose death we’ve memorialized in 2026. She is the 22nd trans woman and the 9th white trans person.

As if so often the case, Juju has been misgendered in reports. But her partner, her best friend, and others have ensured her truth, her actual story is circulating around the lies. I hope they do not have to shoulder that burden during the trial.

So do we read the typical tropes about the man who murdered her. He was homeless, high, poor, mentally ill, etc. We don’t know. None of that excuses violently ripping her life away. Her death doesn’t excuse us from our obligations to people who are homeless, high, mentally ill, poor, etc. It is not that simple and when we reduce these violent deaths, we risk reducing the complexity of gender identity.

I’ve been writing these posts for 13 years and I must say that her friend Liz stands out. She pulled a man with a knife off his target and fought him. She called for help. She got Juju to the edge of the road. She was a fierce warrior in those moments, she fought to save her friend when she could have understandably run away. Liz looks so sad in the photos now. I hope she finds comfort and healing.

Stabbing deaths are often especially vicious. This year alone, Aleanna Royal Bechdel died in a stairwell as the hands of a boyfriend, Juniper Blessing was stabbed 40 times, Eryka Caldwell was stabbed and had her throat sliced by her boyfriend, Ohio gay man Mark Rayburn-Velco was stabbed to death by his adult son.

In 2022, another young trans woman Fern Feather was stabbed to death in Vermont. In 2025 Amira O’Neill was stabbed to death in Michigan. In 2022, Kandi Red was stabbed to death in Kansas City. In 2021, Jahaira DeAlto was stabbed in Massachusetts. In 2020, Kimberly Susan Fial was stabbed in a mass casualty event in San Jose, California.

Especially appalling are the stabbing deaths of teens – Pauly Likens was butchered, her body spread around the community in 2024. In 2015, 20 year old Bri Golec was stabbed by her father. 17 year old queer Bianca Davins was also slaughtered and nearly decapitated in 2019. In 2024, River Goddard was stabbed to death by their boyfriend – with a sword – in Massachusetts.In 2023, 18 yo Jacob Williamson was tortured with over 30 stabbing injuries, then killed on a livestream. Also in 2020, Jae O’Regen age 20 was stabbed in the mall where she worked. In 2017, a 17 year old Ally Steinfield was stabbed to death, then their body burned in Missouri.

According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), between 25% and 35% of tracked anti-transgender homicides globally and domestically are committed using knives or sharp instruments, trailing only firearms as the primary weapon.

I’ve rehorrified myself by listing that brutality here. There are more, but this is representative of my list. **Note a few people I listed were queer, but not trans. There’s something terrifying about these murders. It isn’t a scene from a Sondheim show where a thrust and parry makes the point. There’s a vicious, uncontrollable fury that’s terrifying.

Turning away is not an option. The brutal violence of stabbing deaths leaves a unique trace of anguish in my heart and mind. I often think about their final moments as I dive into their stories. The pain, agony, and fear in stabbing deaths – where someone could slowly die for hours – is overwhelming.

Kasper’s family setup a GoFundMe and one paragraph really captured the intersection of emotional and economic impact of these crimes.

“reality is a little harder and, unfortunately, expensive. These are young people in a shared apartment with several part time jobs who were doing fine holding it all together. An event like this makes it a house of cards. Kasper has to move out of an apartment and a city that has become filled with painful reminders. He is leaving two jobs with two sets of co-workers he likes being around.”

When people asked me why I share the story of a trans neighbor when its “not clear” they were killed because they are trans, it gets to me. Grasping systemic and institutional impacts on violence seems rather obvious to me. It also underscores the economic precarity of so many young people, especially trans and queer folx, where one paycheck from a PT gig can undermine a careful survival plan.

As someone who has experienced homelessness, it breaks my heart that Kasper and Liz have to immediately pivot to paying rent and having food after a horrifying trauma. They have to pack up her things, deal with the prosecution needs, take care of their own selves, and there’s no safety net – except the GoFundMe. It reminds me of the cruelty of people losing safety net incomes when someone dies – there’s no room to breathe, no room to plan, and certainly no time to grieve.

There is no word on final arrangements. According to her mother, Juju was cremated. Her furry friends Her friends will honor her by sewing some of Nadeau’s fursuit into their own, retiring the well-loved hyena by burning it, and throwing the biggest party ever.

Rest in power, Juju. You brought so much delight into the world, worked so hard to live your authentic life. Your fondness for Pittsburgh will forever make me smile. I will think of you each year when Anthrocon returns to Pittsburgh. I am so sorry you left this life in a violent moment and hope the fierce protection of your friends gave you comfort. They fought so hard to save 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.
7. Lanessa Rodriguez – Ft Pierce, Florida, April 28, 2026. Age 35.
8. Jade Roberts – Houston, Texas, January 2, 2026. Age 25.
9. Paris Harris – Dallas, Texas, April 17, 2026. Age 21.
10. Eryka Caldwell – New York, New York, May 17, 2026. Age 41.
11. Nathaniel Potts – Eldorado, Illinois, May 20, 2026. Age 16.
12. Persia Amarra Conway – Houston, Texas. Date unconfirmed. Found on May 26, 2026. Age 33.
13. Juniper Blessing – Seattle, Washington. May 8, 2026. Age 19.
14. Marlow Trottie – Alexandria, Louisiana. June 8, 2026. Age 35.
15. La’Daijah Walters – Mobile, Alabama. June 22, 2026. Age 32.
16. William ‘Ike’ Eickholt – Hastings, Minnesota. February 1, 2025. Age 74.
17. Kayonna Ankeny – Augusta, Georgia. February 5, 2023. Age 30.
18. Asia Williams – Baltimore, Maryland. June 23, 2026. Age 38.
19. Haley Brook Terry – Mobile, Alabama. April 6, 2025. Age 20.
20. Jayla McGee – Belle Glade, Florida (presumed). July 5, 2026. Age 19.
21. Cormac Robinson – Carrollton, Georgia. October 15, 2025. Age 24.
22. Patti Wilson – Grand Junction, Colorado. June 19, 2026. Age 31.
23. Juju Nadeau – Portland, Maine. August 5, 2026. Age 21.

Other Deaths

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

Kalena ‘Peaches’ Croskey – Birmingham, Alabama. June 11, 2026. Age 35.

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

Name Unknown – Charlotte, North Carolina. Found on May 21, 2026. Date of death unknown. Age unknown.

Leia Trysiss Ali – Las Vegas, Nevada. May 24, 2026. Age 35.