Martina
Caldera, 38, was found dead December 6 near a highway overpass in Channelview,
Texas, a suburb of Houston, TV station KPRC reports. Investigators with the Harris County
Sheriff’s Office initially believed she was hit by a car, but they then
discovered she had been shot several times.
Her family
held a demonstration at the site this month to call attention to her death and
to demand justice. Noel Caldera, one of her brothers, said he believes she was
shot elsewhere and her body dumped by the overpass. He and other relatives said
Martina was in a relationship with a married man, and they wondered if that put
her in danger.
The family
members expressed love and acceptance for Martina, even though they used male
pronouns in referring to her. “We didn’t care [she] was transgendered,” her
other brother, Paul Caldera, told KPRC. Noel said Martina was a loving person
and fun to be with.
Other friends
and family noted on social media that she worked two full-time jobs, loved the
music of Selena, and more than anything else loved her family. She had “a heart
of gold,” one wrote.
“Martina
Caldera was a kind person who was full of life, and her family will remember
her dearly,” Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for the Human Rights
Campaign’s Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a press release. “We need more answers about her death,
but we already know the factors that too often result in the in deaths of
transgender and nonbinary people. Intimate partner violence, gun violence and
stigma against transgender and nonbinary people all contribute to this deadly
environment. We must work to reduce these factors and protect our most
vulnerable communities.”
The Harris
County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to investigate. Officers ask that anyone
with information call the homicide unit at (713) 274-9100.
SOURCE:
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