We frequently hear about transwomen being murdered, but there's a case going on in Hattiesburg, MS in which a transman was killed. 28 year old Devin Fortune is charged with one count of murder in the stabbing death of 47 year old Archie Avis Brooks. He is being held at the Forrest County Jail on a $1 million bail.
Forrest County Deputy Coroner Jonathan Nobles said Brooks had been dead since July 26.
After his court appearance in Forrest County Justice Court he told reporters,"I feel bad.” "I regret what I done. I made a mistake.”
Relatives of Brooks who attended Fortune's bond hearing would not comment.
Forrest stated that he stabbed Brooks, who was originally born in New Orleans, after an argument.
Police recovered Brooks' body from a second-floor apartment after a first-floor neighbor reported blood dripping from the ceiling.
Just wanted to point out the accused killer in this case is the partner of the murder victim. They lived together. This is sounding more like a crime of passion than a case of transphobic violence. Doesn't mean it's not a horrible crime but, from what I've read about it, I wouldn't put it in the same category as the frequent murders of transwomen. Mr. Fortune has already admitted to the crime and expressed regret for doing it... quite different from the typical perpetrator of violence against transwomen. Unrelated to the crime, I also notice how the media coverage of it has been very respectful of the victim's male identity, to the point where I had to Google it more than once to initially find out if this was a crime against a transwoman or a transman.
ReplyDeleteSadly by contrast is this recent murder in New Orleans: http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/metro/index.ssf?/base/news-34/1248672023108610.xml&coll=1
Almost certainly another hate crime against a transwoman of color (in this case likely murdered by women... there's already been arrests). As per usual, the media only refers to the victim by her 'real male name' (even though it's suggested in some accounts she was living 24/7 as a woman).
Interesting to compare these two crimes, within a week of one another, both happening in the south to African-Americans and how they've each been covered by the press.