murder

Another

Friday evening police were called to a Sioux Falls apartment building because a juvenile reported a strong odor emanating from a neighbor's apartment. Investigators discovered the body of Jamie Lee Wounded Arrow, a 28-year-old transgender woman. She reportedly had been stabbed to death.

Ms. Wounded Arrow was an Oglala Lakota who grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation.

A vigil was held outside the building on Saturday evening.

We need justice and we will get it.

I’m still in shock. I keep thinking she’s going to text me or come up here.

I always judge myself more severely than everyone around me. She made me feel like I could be myself.

--Franklin Whiting, Jr, friend and neighbor

2016 to shatter record

Five days ago Brandi Bledsoe, a 32-year-old transgender woman, was found dead on a driveway in Cleveland in only her underwear with plastic bags over her head and hands.

The body was discovered by a 5-year-old boy who was out riding his bike with his 12-year-old brother.

Police have disclosed that Brandi suffered head trauma. They also initially misgendered the victim.

Her death is a suspected homicide, but the medical examiner has not offered an official ruling on how she died.

Investigators will take her transgender status into consideration in the investigation. The investigation is in its early stages and it's too early to determine of motive for Bledsoe's death.

--Cleveland police spokesman Jennifer Ciaccia

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