A woman who was shot to death at her home in Brooklyn on December 19 appears to have been a transgender woman, according to records, police accounts, social media posts, and news reports emerging in the hours since she was killed.
Police said they arrived at 178 Rockaway Parkway in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn at 4:20 p.m. and found a 33-year-old woman with gunshot wounds to the chest. Medics pronounced her dead at the scene. Meanwhile, cops said they found a 39-year-old man outside the back of the building who had suffered leg injuries after he likely jumped from the building. Authorities took him into custody and questioned him but did not make any arrests.
Police would not confirm whether or not the woman they found was transgender, though they did not dispute that, and officers said in an email on December 19 that they were still trying to notify the victim’s family. Neighbors told News 12 Brooklyn that the victim was transgender.
Shortly after the police report emerged, a handful of social media posts surfaced on both Instagram and Facebook in which individuals stated that Yahira Nesby, a black trans woman who lived in Brooklyn, had died. In yet another sign that Nesby was the victim, online records show that her address was 178 Rockaway Parkway — the same place where cops discovered the body. Calls to phone numbers associated with Nesby at that address were not answered.
“Black transwoman murdered in Brooklyn last evening, R.I.P yahira nesby aka yaya,” Instagram user @ttimenetwork wrote in a post early in the morning on December 20.
On Facebook, Icon Devine wrote, “Damn not another 1… sis Yahira Nesby I love u,” while another person, Chloe Kalis, wrote, “Life is so unfair… I can not believe this neicey! Free from this hectic world and any pain that you may have endured here on earth. A beautiful spirit, a beautiful woman Yahira Nesby.”
Darrielle Anderson also posted, writing, “I’m so tired of writing R.I.P! You will truly be missed auntie. Yahira Nesby.”
The Daily News, which reported on the killing, noted that police believe the victim was fatally shot by her boyfriend. But it is not yet clear whether a boyfriend killed Nesby or whether the person who police questioned is suspected of the killing, given the lack of any announcement of an arrest.
Ashley Breathe, who posted on Facebook regarding Nesby’s death, wrote, “I was told it was her bq [sic] friend who jumped not the actual killer.”
Nesby’s Facebook page stated that she lived in the Bronx and went to Vance High School in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Trans women of color have been targets of violence nationwide and the Human Rights Campaign has tallied 24 trans or gender non-binary people who have suffered violent deaths this year.
The individuals who posted on social media did not immediately respond to Gay City News’ requests for comment.
