In Louisiana, three suspects were arrested for allegedly holding a transgender woman captive in the Ajax area of Natchitoches Parish. According to the News Star, the victim was held captive, tortured, and forced to perform menial tasks and sexual acts:
The three suspects — David Rodriguez Jr., 37, and Christina Marie Harper, 39, both of Pleasant Hill, and Ambre Tubbs Lomas, 39, of Shreveport — turned themselves in Wednesday and remained in custody Thursday at the Natchitoches Parish Detention Center.
NPSO received a report Saturday night from a Robeline assistant town marshal that he had come in contact with a female who had a logging chain wrapped around her near the intersection of Interstate 49 and Louisiana 6 West near Natchitoches.
Louisiana Trans Advocates and Equality Louisianareleased a statement on the horrific case, excerpted below:
The leaders and members of Louisiana Trans Advocates and Equality Louisiana are full of grief and sadness today as we learn that a transgender woman has been held captive and tortured by three individuals in the Ajax area of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana. She was systematically abused, assaulted and dehumanized by her captors for months. Through her remarkable strength and resilient hope, she fought to survive and successfully escaped captivity…The deprivation of freedom and basic human dignity demonstrated in this case serve as a reminder that things like this happen in the cities and parishes of our state and are far too often ignored by the media and law enforcement. It is not uncommon for transgender women to be subjected to violence that results in their death. LGBT people, people of color, women and many other populations experience unacceptable treatment on a daily basis.
GLAAD will continue to monitor coverage of this disturbing story and report any updates.