Post submitted by HRC Senior Research Manager, Public Education & Research, Liam Miranda​

This post was updated on March 1, 2018.

HRC was shocked and saddened to learn of the death of Zakaria Fry, a transgender woman living in New Mexico who had been missing since mid-January.

Fry and roomate Eugene Ray’s bodies were found in the town of Stanley, 40 miles east of Albuquerque, on February 19. Rancher Fidel Montoya found one body in a trash bin along the road, and another body was recovered about two miles away. Police confirmed them to be Fry and Ray on Tuesday, February 27.

Though Montoya reported that he had found a woman’s body -- the Santa Fe County sheriff’s office erroneously announced that both bodies were male.

Twenty-eight year old Fry was renting from Ray when they both went missing in mid-January. Ray’s family alerted police after the home was found in “disarray”.

The Albuquerque Police Department arrested and charged Charles Spiess with two open counts of murder.

Fry’s friends, family and loved ones are sharing their condolences and fond memories of her on her Facebook page. One message, from friend Maddy Wilson, reads: “You were my older sister. You took care of me and loved me like family. I’ll forever love you. I’m sorry.”

Fry is the sixth known case of deadly anti-transgender violence in the U.S. this year. Last year, the HRC Foundation and the Trans People of Color Coalition released a report documenting the senseless acts of violence that made 2017 the deadliest year on record for transgender people, particularly for trans women of color.

To learn more about HRC’s transgender justice work, and the epidemic of violence against transgender people, visit hrc.org/Transgender.

Photo via Facebook.