Tayy Dior Thomas, a 17-year-old transgender girl, was shot to death May 7 in Mobile, Ala., and the suspect is a man who her family says she had been dating.

Police found her body about 3:30 a.m. in the front yard of a home after responding to a report of shots fired in the area, according to TV station WALA.A vehicle had crashed into the house as well.

Police arrested Carl Washington Jr., 20. He is charged with murder. He pleaded not guilty this week and was denied bond.

Most news reports, including the WALA one, misgendered and deadnamed Thomas, but her family confirmed her name and trans identity to the Human Rights Campaign. The family told HRC that Thomas and Washington had been dating for about a year, and they believe Washington was afraid their relationship would become known to others.

“By all accounts, Tayy was a beautiful soul deeply loved by her family, friends, and community,” Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for HRC’s Transgender Justice Initiative, said in a press release. “She had so much life ahead of her, and it is heartbreaking that that potential was ripped away so violently by someone she was supposed to be able to trust. In 2015, we found that over half of all transgender and nonbinary adults were victims of intimate partner violence. So far, in 2024, nearly half of all victims of fatal violence with a known killer were killed by a romantic or sexual partner, friend, or family member. Trans people should be able to trust that the people in their lives will help protect them from this violence, not cause it.”

Tayy was “shy but so fearless” and had “natural leadership ability,” her grandmother told HRC. She “always had a huge smile on her face showing her dimples,” her grandmother added.

“In speaking with Tayy’s family, it is clear how deeply she was loved and cared for,” Carmarion Anderson, HRC’s Alabama state director, said in the release. “Her death is a massive loss for everyone who had the privilege of knowing her, and for those who had not yet had the chance to do so. We join Tayy’s family in their fight for justice, including in their call to have her murder be classified as a hate crime.” So far, police and prosecutors have not characterized it as such. Alabama’s hate-crime law does not cover crimes motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity, but the suspect could be prosecuted under federal law, which does.

Thomas is survived by her grandmother, her mother, four siblings including a twin brother, and many extended family members. The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for funeral expenses.