Cristela Guerra

cguerra@news-press.com

Her name was Yaz'min Shancez, she lived and she was loved. She loved walking into her stepmother's kitchen to find freshly made cakes. She loved macaroni and cheese. Loved the color black. And being surrounded by endless relatives at a family barbeque. She was known for borrowing her cousins' shoes. Styling her other cousin's hair. Arguing.

Fort Myers police ID burned transgender victim, rule death a homicide

Shancez invented her own category in the game of life. A proud transgender woman, Miss T as she was nicknamed, was someone who never forgot to say I love you. She often popped by her auntie's house unannounced. Tasha Furlow, 32, knew Shancez would stick around. Furlow never minded. A night passed, then a weekend, then a month. Shancez spoke her mind and lived unashamed. She was human, according to her sister Laquesha Loggins, 22, who knew her as "big brother." Her father's first born.

"I'd just talked with him," Loggins said of Shancez. "And he just kept saying, 'I love you, I love you, I love.' He was a lovely person."

She had a criminal history. Arrests included charges of trespassing (2002), failure to appear in court (2004, 2013), violation of probation (2006), prostitution (2009) and cocaine possession (2011.) Police used her legal name: Eddie James Owens. But to those who knew her, to those who loved her in spite of everything, she was Yaz'min. Her family knew she had a difficult life. But step-mother Shannon Adams said you could never tell. She danced. She hustled. She was a fighter. And she didn't deserve to die that way. Shot. Burned. Left in an alleyway off Fowler Street, exactly two years to the date her sister, 16-year-old Cha'Riah Owens, was found shot to death.

"Nobody deserves that," said Beatrice Loggins, Shancez's aunt. "Straight, gay, purple, pink, white, black. Nobody...There will never be another T, you couldn't clone her, couldn't mold her."

"We don't know of any person who would do something like that to T," said cousin Jasmine Weaver, 23, of Fort Myers. "It's mind-boggling. You'd never think that would happen to your family."

There's been an outcry online and across Southwest Florida after her death. The LGBTQIA community has embraced the family, trying to bring awareness to what some believe was a hate crime. The Fort Myers Police Department has not confirmed whether Shancez was targeted for being a transgender person.

"Forty percent of transgender people are unemployed due to discrimination," said Heather Lunsford, founder of The Center of Southwest Florida, a local advocacy organization. "It's not unusual for people to turn to drugs and sex work when they have a hard time getting jobs. The T in LGBTQIA is often the most overlooked."

On Facebook, Jason Fleenor, 40, of Naples started a group to help the family with funeral expenses. There was a 50/50 raffle at Tubby's in Cape Coral and other events in the works.

"We still don't know if (her being a transgender woman) was why she died," Fleenor said. "But it very likely was. In 2014, people shouldn't be afraid to be who they are in public. I have friends that are transitioning … I see the fear in their faces. It makes me even angrier. They shouldn't have to be afraid."

IF YOU GO

What: Vigil for Yaz'min Shancez

When: Sunday at 7:30 p.m.

Where: Centennial Park, 2000 W First St, Fort Myers, FL 33901

To donate: Visit https://fundly.com/yaz-min-shancez-eddie-owens-fundraiser