Brutal Murder Of Transgender Woman Prompts News Organizations To Blame ‘Male’ Victim

[Ms. Toad]

The victim, Cemia Acoff, whom every outlet incorrectly named “Carl Acoff,” was a 20-year old transgender woman found brutally murdered — her body dumped into a pond in a Cleveland, Ohio suburb after having been stabbed, tied with rope, and “attached to a block of concrete,” reports state.

. . .

News reports from local ABC affiliate NewsNet5.com, local Fox affiliate Fox 8, an Associated Press (AP) report in the Times Leader and elsewhere, a report as far away as Tucson, Arizona’s KOLD/KMSB, and two reports in the Cleveland Plain-Dealer all chose to identify the murder victim as male, not as a transgender woman.

A few titles:

Oddly dressed body found in Olmsted Township pond identified

Brutal slaying marks the end of Clevelander’s fight for acceptance

Stabbed body in pond ID’d as missing Cleveland man

Man found in Olmsted Township pond has criminal history

Police Identify Man Found in Pond

Olmsted Township police ID man dead in pond, tied to concrete block/steel pipe as Carl Acoff Jr.

Not one report used the word “transgender” or identified the murder victim as a transgender woman.

According to more recent reports, Cemia used the last name Dove, rather than Acoff.

Cemia's identification of herself as female when carrying identification which labeled her male (a label which it can be challenging to change) and her use of mace to defend herself had led to criminal charges - (and she was barred form riding the RTA where the incident occurred), as did her use of hormones. These "crimes" - completely irrelevant to her death - were trotted out to tarnish her reputation. The clothing she was wearing when she was found, partially nude, was described as women's underwear all the while referring to her as he or, in one story, as "it." (Some of the worst reporting was later edited out - at least by the Plain Dealer.)

In death, as too often happens in life Cemia's life was turned into a disgusting joke.

[uppityperson]

1. Big sigh, :(

[Melinda]

2. What these "news" orgs did to her in death should be classified as a hate crime.

To impugn her character by writing what they did about her after she was brutally murdered is beyond outrageous - I have no words.

I plan to spend a good part of tomorrow day contacting all the POS rat bastards who did this, and I would encourage others to do the same. Do not let them get away with such degradation of this poor girl... she was just a baby. RIP, Cemia.

[TDale313]

3. So heartbreaking. n/t

[In_The_Wind]

4. This is horrible. It's unacceptable!

[one_voice]

5. Heartbreaking.

[Ms. Toad]

6. For anyone in the vicinity of Cleveland today -

There's a rally at 3:00 on the steps of City Hall. http://www.facebook.com/events/100575020146982/