Transgender Harlem Woman Died From Accidental Drowning: Coroner

HARLEM, NY — Elie Che, a transgender woman living in Harlem who was found dead this week on Orchard Beach in the Bronx, died from an accidental drowning, the city Medical Examiner's office said Friday.

Identified by authorities as 23-year-old Ellie Williams, she was originally from Atlanta and had recently spent three years in London, where she became a "transgender icon" and a fixture in the city's queer nightlife scene, according to a report in Paper Magazine. Known to friends as Elie Che, she alternately used they/them pronouns.

She had only recently arrived in New York. Just over a month before her death, Che created a GoFundMe, writing that she planned to move here this summer and needed help affording a transition as well as housing costs and "general survival."

View this post on Instagram

damn sis... I’m pretty. Taking headshots for #NYFW coming up where I’ll be moving to in a few weeks
A post shared by Elie (El-ie)-Che (@elie.che) on Jul 24, 2020 at 3:47pm PDT

"I think people are finally understanding this and the issues among black trans women who have an average life span of 35 years old," she wrote. "I want to make it past that."

Transgender women face high rates of violence, including least 26 transgender or gender non-conforming people in the U.S. who have been killed so far in 2020, although the 35 percent statistic is disputed.

Che wrote that New York appealed to her as "a black trans woman who is a fashion enthusiast," adding that the city has a large community of queer people of color.

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I may look like a snake but don’t be mistaken no snakes ovah hea
A post shared by Elie (El-ie)-Che (@elie.che) on Aug 21, 2020 at 11:21am PDT

Police said Monday that Che had called a friend and said she was going to the beach. The friend reported her missing after she failed to return, and officers searching the beach along with the friend found Che's body in the sand around 6:09 a.m. Monday.

Friends of Che's in Atlanta are planning a candlelight vigil in her memory at sunset Sunday at the city's Fourth Ward Park.

The NYPD had no further details Friday about the circumstances of Che's death.