Body Of Transgender Woman, Chynal Lindsey, Found In Dallas

While progress has been made in the treatment and rights of transgender people, the last few years have also seen a fair bit of pushback. And in some cases, unfortunately, some of that pushback has manifested itself into violence.

That was this case over the weekend in Dallas with the murder of a second transgender woman in nearly a month.

Dallas police discovered the body of Chynal Lindsey in a nearby lake on Saturday, June 1. The discovery was announced on Monday in a press conference by Dallas Police Chief Reneé Hall.

“The Dallas Police Department has reached out to the FBI because, as we know, this is the second individual who is transgender who is deceased in our community,” Chief Hall said during the press conference.

Hall is referring to the May 18 murder of Muhlaysia Booker, a transgender woman who was shot dead in South Dallas. However, Hall did make it clear that there is no evidence at the moment that suggests both cases are connected. She has encouraged anyone with information to come forward to aid in the police’s investigation.

Aside from aiding the investigation, Hall also revealed that the FBI will also work to determine if the crimes constitute hate crimes. The reason is that, under Texas law, it’s unclear if hate crime charges can be filed due to a lack of protections for transgender people. If not, federal prosecutors could file hate crime charges in place.

“That's our goal, to provide safety for each and every member of the community,” Hall said. She continued “we're working together to make sure that you can feel safe in the community.”