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Written by Louis Weisberg, Staff writer
May 20, 2010
They remember her cheerfulness, her chattiness and her irrepressible sense of humor.
But most of all, the friends and family of Dana (Chanel) Larkin remember her infectious smile and generous nature.
“No matter how down you were, she was always there to make you feel better,” said one of more than 100 mourners who gathered May 14 at LifeStyle Ministries, 2328 W. Capitol Drive, to say goodbye to the 26-year-old transgender woman.
On May 7, Larkin was shot three times, including once in the head. Andrew Olacirequi, 27, faces charges of first-degree reckless homicide and use of a dangerous weapon in connection of the killing.
In his statement to police, Olacirequi said he was looking for a prostitute when he met Larkin on the corner of North 27th Street and North Avenue. He said he was carrying a loaded gun because he was going to a “rough neighborhood.”
Olacirequi said Larkin agreed to perform oral sex for $20 and they drove to North 23rd Street, just south of North Avenue. He claimed a fight broke out after he realized that Larkin was “a man” and that he accidentally shot her as they wrestled for his gun.
Police arrested Olacirequi when he returned to the crime scene to look for his cell phone.
Williams and other mourners disputed Olacirequi’s story. “To shoot her three times – and in the head – he knew exactly what he was doing,” said Larkin’s longtime friend Lottisha Williams. “We want justice.”
The Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, Diverse and Resilient and FORGE, a Milwaukee-based transgender social support organization, have called for prosecutors to “consider the appropriateness of using Wisconsin’s hate-crime penalty enhancer in this case.” Such charges mandate stiffer penalties for hate-motivated crimes targeting members of specific populations.
State law provides for hate-crime charges when a perpetrator “intentionally selects the (victim) in whole or in part because of the race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin or ancestry.” The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in October 2009, also applies federal hate-crime law to crimes motivated by a victim’s actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.
Although hate-crime charges have been filed in LGBT cases in Madison and other Wisconsin jurisdictions, they have never been sought in Milwaukee County.
“This case is clearly, undeniably, a hate-motivated crime,” said Michael Munson of FORGE. “We definitely want the district attorney’s office to treat this as a hate crime.”
According to Munson, Larkin fits the profile of the majority of transgender people who are murdered. They are mostly African-American transwomen, usually in their 20s and 30s, he said. Violent attacks against transgenders are often marked by “overkill,” that is, repeated stabbing and shooting as well as genital mutilation.
A large number of transgender women work in the sex trade, since many cannot find stable employment, Munson said. But at Larkin’s emotional May 14 funeral service, several friends said she was really looking for a ride the night she encountered Olacirequi.
“She made a couple of calls looking for a ride,” Williams said. “If she would have made more calls, she would still be here.”
One friend who spoke at the funeral said he was among those contacted by Larkin for a ride on the night of May 7. “If I’d known, I would have picked you up,” he said, looking down at her casket, his voice trembling. “I’m so sorry.”
Larkin was active in Milwaukee’s transgender community. She was a member of Diverse and Resilient’s group SHEBA, an acronym for Sisters Helping Each Other Battle AIDS, for at least four years, according to Brenda Coley, the organization’s director of adult services.
Coley said she was so devastated that she had to leave work when she heard the news of Larkin’s death.
“I had talked with her two weeks before,” Coley said. “She had just called to say hello and tell me she was planning to come back to SHEBA on a more regular basis. She was a very caring person and was always in a good mood, always a delight to be around.”
Coley and other friends expressed resentment at the mainstream media for referring to Larkin as “a man” and as “he” in accounts of her death.
“That’s a very disrespectful way to acknowledge her life,” Coley said. “She considered herself female. She considered herself a transgender woman. She was not a drag queen. This is who she was 24 hours a day.”
“It does not matter what was on her driver’s license – what matters is how she identified and how people knew and loved her,” Munson said.
