Michigan Police Search For Killer Of Transgender Woman Who Recently Graduated Nursing School

A transgender woman who just finished nursing school was killed in Michigan, and authorities are searching for her killer.

“She was ready to take on the world, and she was ready to help,” Alantae Martin told CBS News Detroit about his 34-year-old sister, Ashia Davis. “And she was ready to care for others, and she was ready to give back to her community.”

On June 2, Davis was found dead inside a Woodward Inn room in the Detroit suburb Highland Park.

The Michigan State Police recovered surveillance video that shows a man considered to be a person of interest walking and running through a parking lot at the hotel around the time when police believe Davis was murdered. He reportedly is wearing black Adidas jogging pants, black Nike shoes and a blue hooded sweatshirt or jacket and has a distinctive gait.

“While the video is from a distance and the photo is blurry, we are hopeful that someone will recognize this person,” Public Information Officer and First Lt. Mike Shaw said, The Detroit News reported.

A GoFundMe set up by a friend notes the victim was a “beautiful soul with a heart of gold.”

“Ashia is a part of the transgender community that is often targeted,” the page states. “She has a family that includes an aging mother that is just completely devastated.”

Julisa Abad, a victim advocate for the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and Director of Transgender Advocacy for the Fair Michigan Justice Project, noted that “trans women of color, specifically, experience the most violence” in the LGBTQ community.

Anyone with information about the person of interest or the case is urged to call (855) MICH-TIP or Crime Stoppers at (800) SPEAK-UP.