Beloved 20-Year-Old Trans Woman Dylan Gurley Tragically Killed in Texas

This blog originally appeared at THEM.

According to the Human Rights Campaign, Texas is responsible for over 10% of all trans murder victims.

Dylan Gurley, a young transgender woman who was just shy of her 21st birthday on August 18, was tragically killed in Texas on July 23.

As reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, police discovered Gurley with “traumatic injuries” at a residence in Denton, Texas around 11 p.m. that evening. She was rushed to the Medical City Denton hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries about 40 minutes later. According to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office, Gurley’s official cause of death was “blunt and sharp force injuries with strangulation,” indicating that she may have been beaten, cut, and strangled.

Few details have emerged about her death, other than that she was unhoused at the time, according to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). A suspect has yet to be identified. An online obituary states that Gurley was born in Arlington, Texas, and is survived by her parents, step-parents, grandparents, and siblings. “Many other family members and friends loved Dylan,” the obituary reads.

Dylan’s sister, Senica Ciarallo, has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help raise funds “to give Dylan the memorial she wanted and deserved.” The money will be used for urns, bracelets, and necklaces to hold her ashes for those closest to Gurley. The family is also planning a special event to honor what would have been her 21st birthday.

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