Ashia Davis was described as a “loving parent to her yorkie named Clyde” (Instagram)
An 18-year-old has been arrested and charged in connection with the June 2023 death of 34-year-old Ashia Davis in a suburb of Detroit.
Ashia, a Black transgender woman who also went by Asia according to the Human Rights Campaign, was found shot to death in a hotel in Detroit’s Highland Park enclave. Her death was at least the 12th violent killing of a transgender or gender non-conforming person in 2023, again according to the HRC.
On Friday (15 March), Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced the charges against 18-year-old Carlos Lamar Scotland, who was 17 at the time of the alleged crime, as first-degree murder, felony firearm, resisting and obstructing police, and carrying a concealed weapon.
According to FOX 2 Detroit, Prosecutor Kym Worthy and local police declined to say if the alleged murder was being treated was a suspected hate crime. Authorities also declined to say whether Ashia Davis and Carlos Lamar Scotland knew each other.
“She was murdered tragically and coincidentally on the first day of Pride Month,” Worthy is reported as saying.
Davis’ half-brother Alantae Martin spoke to CBS News Detroit just after her death, and said that his sister had just finished nursing school and was to begin her new job when the fatal incident occurred.
“She was ready to take on the world, and she was ready to help. And she was ready to care for others, and she was ready to give back to her community.”
Tori Cooper, HRC Director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative, also spoke out about the shooting, saying: “Ashia Davis was a beautiful human being who deserves at a minimum to be alive today, sharing her cheerful spirit with us.
“During Pride Month and every other month, we’re faced with yet another tragic reminder that as Black trans women, we are under attack in this country. Anti-trans rhetoric and stigma perpetuate this violence. It’s beyond unacceptable that not nearly enough of those in power have spoken out against this inhumanity. We continue to call for justice – for Ashia and for all those we’ve lost without sufficient answers.”