LGBT Community Pressing for Answers in White's Homicide

The homicide of Victoria Carmen White on September 12 in Maplewood remains under investigation, but some members of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgendered community are getting impatient for information and action related to the case.

Steve Mershon, a moderator of Rainbow Families of Maplewood and South Orange Yahoo Group, recently contacted Patch to see if any additional information on the investigation was forthcoming. Mershon has also contacted the Maplewood Township Committee, seeking further information.

Mershon reports that the national LGBT community—indeed the international LGBT community—is watching the case closely, and is desirous to know if the homicide will be prosecuted as a hate crime when arrests are made. Mershon writes, "Though sparsely reported by the mainstream media, acts of violence against transgender persons are an epidemic in this country."

Patch continues to check in with the Essex County Prosecutor's Office regularly on the status of the Victoria White investigation as well as those of several other victims of violence with close ties to our community, including:

• Arthur Downing, 27, of Henry Place, who was asphyxiated in his home on March 15. The suspect left the scene using Downing's car, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office reported at the time.
• David Bravo, who grew up in the Hilton section of Maplewood and was shot to death in Irvington in August.
• Barron Weir, who grew up in South Orange, attended Hampton University in Virginia and was known for his athletic abilities including his stellar tennis game. Weir was shot and killed in the Vailsburg section of Newark on September 21.

On Monday, Katherine Carter of the Essex County Prosecutor's Office gave this response to a request for information: "The investigations are continuing in all the cases. No arrests have made yet. No decision has been made yet on whether the Victoria White homicide will be treated as a hate crime."

When asked to comment, Maplewood Chief of Police Robert Cimino noted, "The Maplewood Police Department places the same high priority on every homicide that occurs. Both investigations [White and Downing] are ongoing."

Township Committeeman Jerry Ryan told Patch, "The police administration has asked that we not make any comments on active investigations."

Yesterday morning over coffee Maria Morrison Heningburg reminisced about David Bravo, whose homicide is being investigated by Irvington Police and the Essex County Prosecutor's Office. Bravo played with Heningburg's daughter as a child and was comfortable running in and out of her house with a passel of neighborhood kids. David had no strong father figure in his life, Heningburg said. Later he turned to crime, robbing the QuickChek on Springfield Avenue. Heningburg called his death "heartbreaking."

Meanwhile, remembrances of Victoria White continue to accumulate in the comments section of articles about her here on Patch. Some have questioned journalistic standards for reporting past and present identities of transgender persons, the status of a transgender person's transition and the proper use of personal pronouns. Many more lament the loss of a bright, beautiful and promising young person.

One recent posting urges LGBT community members to contact the Prosecutor's Office and press for action on the case. Writes a commenter identified only as Allison: "For all those who loved Victoria. For all those that claim to be her friend. Please start daily calling on your prosecutor to find who murdered her. ... If you honor her, if you called her friend, then action is what she needs today."

While some work on action, White will also be receiving further remembrance. Mershon said that the national and international transgender communities host an annual International Transgender Day of Remembrance every November 20 to memorialize those transgender persons murdered over the preceding 12 months.  Added Mershon, "Victoria Carmen White will be among those memorialized this November, and there will be at least one or more participating memorials in New Jersey."