Transgender woman murdered in her Puerto Rico home

Ashley Santiago was found stabbed in her home yesterday. Cops said she was stabbed 14 times and left on her kitchen floor naked.

El Nuevo Día reported Santiago’s mother went to a local police station to report she had not heard from her daughter since Sunday, April 18. Police said Santiago had been stabbed 14 times. And El Nuevo Día further reported the victim’s 2009 Toyota Corolla was not parked in front of her home.

Investigators have yet to determine whether Santiago’s killer (or killers) murdered her because of her gender identity or expression, but Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force urged authorities to investigate her death as a possible hate crime.

"The authorities have a legal obligation to investigate this hate angle," he told EDGE in a statement. "We urge the police and the prosecutor to appropriately investigate this murder; to determine whether it was motivated by prejudice and if there is enough evidence to classify it as a hate crime at this moment."

I hope they find her murderer soon. My heart goes out to Ashley's family and friends.

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