On April 7th, 31-year-old Davonta Curtis was found beaten to death on the floor of her apartment. Davonta’s sister found her partially covered with a sheet, near a large pool of her own blood. When she found her sister, Davonta had already been dead for two days.
A day later, Chicago police arrested Davonta’s “on-again, off-again boyfriend” Deandre Bell, 24, for her murder. Bell is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a stolen vehicle.
Police say Bell confessed to Davonta’s murder, stealing her car, and taking her money. Bell was found driving Davonta’s blue Hyundai when he was arrested and had a bloody screwdriver and hammer in his backpack. Court documents allege Bell googled “how to kill someone with a hammer” and “if a person gets hit in the head with a hammer while sleeping, what happens?” before murdering Davonta.
Davonta, who is a trans woman, has already been misgendered by a handful of media outlets, referring to her as a man. The media has also reported that Dakota was a sex worker, though it’s not clear at present whether or not these claims are true.
If an attempt by the media to somehow justify Davonta’s killing, they should be themselves be vilified. It is this kind of media messaging that has allowed trans women to be murdered at epidemic proportions. Sex worker or not nothing justifies Davonta’s murder!
Davonta joins a growing number of trans women who have been murdered. Last year, 58 trans women died, 27 of them died from violent deaths, 22 by suicide, 8 from natural causes, and 1 from an unknown cause. Black trans women, like Dakota, made up a disproportionate number of the deaths, especially violent deaths. In 2023, 36% of trans victims of fatal violence with a known killer were killed by a romantic/sexual partner, friend, or family member.
Davonta‘s murder is a reminder of the patriarchal violence that must be uprooted and smashed in the fight against capitalism and the pursuit of true liberation in society. Patriarchy subjects women, trans and nonbinary people to daily violence, harassment, and other forms of oppression while conditioning young boys and men to act as its loyal enforcers.
Not just trans women but all members of society have a duty to fight to combat patriarchy and end the senseless killings.
Dare to Struggle 