Sioux Falls Police are investigating the city's first homicide of 2017.

Officers found a transgender woman dead inside her Sioux Falls apartment Friday night after a neighbor called to report a foul smell coming from next door.

Friends are morning the death of 28-year-old Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow.

Wounded Arrow was found dead in her apartment Friday night.

"Jamie was going through some changes in her life. She taught me it's okay to go through those changes," said neighbor and friend, Franklin J. Whiting Jr.

Wounded Arrow moved to Sioux Falls about six months ago. She was a proud member of the LGBT community and the group Sioux Falls Two Spirit and Allies.

"This was impossible to learn about. She is the last person I expected this to happen to," said friend Reina Parker.

Parker and Wounded Arrow became friends not long after her move to Sioux Falls. She says it didn't take long for them to bond.

"Her impact was instantaneous. Just the moment she started talking you could feel the energy inside of her and you can feel the type of person she was," Parker said.

"The comfort she shows, the compassion she shows, she makes me feel very comfortable," added Whiting Jr.

Police have not released a motive for her death, but friends believe her death may be related to her gender identity.

"Who she was and what she was, she was present in every word she spoke and you didn't have to know to realize the type of human she was," stated Parker.

"It means we have a lot of work to do and we also need a lot of help and there is a lot to be done for education. There's a lot to be done for L.G.B.T protections," said President of the Center of Equality, Danielle Wilcox.

Wounded Arrow's friends say she inspired others to not be afraid to be themselves.

"I just want people to remember Jamie as a strong individual. If you every feel down, weak, scared, don't be," said Whiting Jr.

Wounded Arrow's death marks the second homicide this year of a transgender person in the United States.

2016 was the deadliest year on record for the community, with 25 reported deaths across the country.