Who was Alexus 'Kimmy' Braxton? Black transgender hairstylist killed in ‘vicious’ attack in Florida apartment
MIAMI-DADE, FLORIDA: Police in Miami-Dade are on the lookout for more information on the murder of a transgender woman who they believe was killed in a "violent and vicious" attack earlier this month. The victim, 45-year-old Alexus Braxton also known as Kimmy, was found dead on February 4 inside her northeast Miami-Dade home at the Carmel at the California Condominiums.
"Whoever did this, you need to come forward," Alexus' sister, who gave her name as Neki, told NBC Miami. "You hurting our family. You hurting everyone around us, and we want to know, why, why, why would you do it? What would the reason be for you to do such a crime and do such an act on a beautiful person?"
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"I was calling her all that day," the victim's mother, Tatiana Braxton, told NBC Miami. With no response, her concern led her to grab her other daughter and go to the apartment, where the women's suspicions led them to alert police, who discovered the crime scene.
Tatiana also said, “Twenty-two years later and Black Trans Women’s lives are still not VALUED. In 1999, I witnessed my best friend get murdered in the streets of Miami. Sadly, since her murder, I’ve lost many more friends due to senseless violence. Here we are in 2021, it’s my daughter Kimmy. There’s one thing that remains the same: law enforcement, state officials and local politicians have no sense of urgency to address this growing epidemic. Please help us!”
In a video news release, Miami-Dade Police Det Juan Segovia said: "The family has been left with no closure. They're suffering tremendously because of the death and the manner in which our victim… was murdered."
According to Alexus’ Facebook, she was a hairstylist. She was active on social media and posted frequently, often discussing time spent with friends or the obstacles she had overcome in her life. A recent post stated, “They can’t stop my shine.” Family and friends held a balloon release to honor Alexus’ life on February 8 and have been remembering her on social media, with one saying “I’m beyond devastated.”
According to Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ advocacy organization, Alexus' death is "at least" the sixth violent death of a transgender person in 2021, after 44 recorded deaths of transgender and gender non-conforming people in 2020 — more than any year since HRC began tracking such violence in 2013.