Member-only story
Royal Poetical Starz, 26-Year-Old Black Trans Woman, Shot to Death Near Miami
A 26-year-old Black trans woman was murdered inside her vehicle in the Miami Gardens community in Florida. Her name was Royal Poetical Starz and while news of her murder spread among her friends and family, media failed to pick up her story.
A prime reason they didn’t know: Miami Gardens police on Oct. 4 issued a news release stating that a 26-year-old “Black male” had been slain — alongside a photo of Poetical presenting herself as a woman.
Investigators haven’t said much about Poetical’s death, except it “occurred at the 4600 Block of NW 185th Street, in Miami Gardens” about 11:26 a.m., according to the police news release.
Miami Gardens homicide detective Michael Lissade on Tuesday said the department would eventually disclose more details, but “we’re not releasing any information right now.”
According to a lawyer friend, Royal Poetical did legally change her name, but her passport was not updated. Police claim her passport was the only identification available to them.
In 2021, police find the body of a person assigned male wearing clothing that we consider female and don’t stop to consider the possibility they are responding to a trans woman? This ignorance and poor policing protocols is a terrible reflection on the community of Miami Gardens. They simply didn’t do their jobs for whatever reason — ignorance, bigotry, etc. And their failure to do so compromises their investigation into Royal Poetical’s death. Further, they create a public safety crisis by not reaching out to the trans community or at least the regional LGBTQ community organizations.
Clearly, something terrible happened that is tied to some sort of bigger investigation or they would share the details. Police keep details to themselves when they are part of an investigation. We have no assurances that other trans women in Miami Gardens are not facing a similar threat because the public safety department just said nothing.
They misgendered her, they deadnamed her, and they said nothing as if her death doesn’t even matter.
