CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A woman killed early Sunday is the second transgender woman to be killed in Cleveland in four months.

Keisha Wells, 54, was identified by a family member and LGBTQ advocates as the woman killed on Detroit Avenue near West 87th Street. A family member identified her to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner's Office Monday night.

Wells' aunt, Regina Spicer, said Wells loved to make everyone around her laugh. She said Wells, who family members referred to as "Pokey" and who was referred to by family as both Keisha and her birth name Maurice, also spoiled the dozen or so nieces and nephews.

"Pokey was funny," Spicer said. "Pokey liked laughing and telling funny stories about people. But when (she) loved you and cared about you, (she) loved you."

Spicer said Wells worked odd jobs for years after graduating from East Tech High School. Wells enjoyed decorating and spending time with family. Spicer said Wells was a good person who never harmed anyone.

"This was really shocking to (her) family to the people that know" Wells, she said.

Spicer said Wells' mother and brother recently died and that Wells' sister has been in a coma for the last year.

"(She) was dealing with a lot of loss," Spicer said.

Wells' best friend of some four decades, Sheila Jones, said Wells always loved dressing in the best and most glamorous clothes, whether as Maurice, when she was around family, or as Keisha, when she frequented several of her favorite nightspots, including Cocktails.

Jones said Wells was at Cocktails the night she was killed. Her body was found only blocks away.

"(She) always loved the most expensive high heels and stilettos, the hats and (her) expensive sunglasses," Jones said. "(She) was the nicest person ever. But (she) was a tough cookie. (She) wouldn't back down from anyone."

Greater Cleveland LGBT Executive Director Phyllis Harris said Wells' death hit the city's LGBTQ community hard.

"Every time this happens, it's heartbreaking," Harris said. "It's important that people know the issues they face so we can see less of this."

Wells was found dead about 7 a.m. in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Detroit Avenue. Police said she suffered what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Eleven bullet casings were found at the scene, according to police reports. Officers also collected a leopard print shoe, a sweatshirt and a wig at the scene.

She had no identification with her at the time, which caused investigators issues in identifying her, police said.

No arrests have been made in the case. She's the seventh person to be killed in Cleveland in the last six days.

Wells is the second transgender woman to be killed in Cleveland in 2018 and the 13th known transgender person to be killed in the country this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign, which tracks transgender homicides nationwide.

Phylicia Mitchell, 45, was fatally shot Feb. 24 outside her apartment in the city's Edgewater neighborhood by a man collecting a drug debt, police said. Gary Sanders, 36, is charged with aggravated murder in connection with Mitchell's death.

Four other transgender persons have been killed in Cleveland since 2012.

"This is a major issue for the trans community in terms of the amount of violence we experience and particularly black trans women," Harris said. "There are deeper issues with employment, mental health, housing and addiction."

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