This is a developing story and this article will be updated as more information becomes available.
Brayla Stone was a 17-year-old transgender Black girl who was murdered in Little Rock, Arkansas on June 25. Her killer allegedly boasted of the murder on social media and said he was offered $5,000 to commit the crime.
According to reports, Stone was found dead inside a car on Thursday in North Little Rock. Although her murderer has not been identified, an Instagram user, @tapnseason posted a picture of $100 bills with the caption “$5k.” In a post that mourned the loss of Stone, the same user commented “zipped em for 5k. Money Well Spent.”
Although it is unclear whether that user actually murdered Stone (he has since taken down his comment), no one has yet been charged or arrested for the crime and the user’s page remains active on Instagram with the bio “PAY THE PRICE ROLL THE DICE THEY LOSE THEY LIFE.”
The murder has received little media coverage and many have noted that the outlets covering Stone’s murder only used her deadname, or the name she was given at birth, rather than the name she chose for herself.
This is just…smh. Another Black trans girl was murdered. When we said protect Black trans women—we meant our youth as well. She was only 17 and media of course used her birth name instead of her REAL name. Say her name. #BraylaStone pic.twitter.com/MBfyOdrALu
— Ashlee Marie Preston (@AshleeMPreston) June 27, 2020
How are they misgendering or being transphobic by stating a persons government name? That’s the name that’s on the birth certificate and will sadly be on the death certificate as well…
— J s (@_jxg) June 27, 2020
A BLACK TRANS GIRL WAS MURDERED IN LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS. HER NAME IS BRAYLA STONE. SHE WAS 17 YEARS OLD #SAYHERNAME
The only news outlet reporting on this is currently misgendering her, do NOT share any articles containing her dead name.
— I GOT SUM TO GET OFF MY CHEST (@damexpatr) June 27, 2020
Stone had a YouTube channel in which she appeared to experiment with music. She uploaded a song called “fag 2 fag” on her channel on January 14.
Stone’s murder comes at the heels of a reinvigorated Black Lives Matter movement that has more forcefully called for the inclusion of Black trans and queer people. In its website, Black Lives Matter notes that they “affirm the lives of Black queer and trans folks, disabled folks, undocumented folks, folks with records, women, and all Black lives along the gender spectrum.” Recently, the Brooklyn Liberation March attracted 15,000 protestors calling for an end to the epidemic of Black trans murders in the United States.
A petition was recently created demanding justice for Brayla Stone.
