Rita Hester was an out, transgendered woman who had lived as a full-time woman for over 10 years in the Allston/Brighton community (just west of Boston proper). Comfortable with both herself and the way she was received by all segments of the local communities, Rita was a well-loved patron of both transgender-friendly clubs such as Jacques and straight bars such as Allston's Model Cafe and The Silhouette. She had just returned from performing abroad, a career path which she thoroughly enjoyed. While the press has chosen to focus on Rita's transgendered nature, her friends have instead highlighted on her vivaciousness.
Rita was also known as a large woman who could take care of herself, a fact which makes her murder only more puzzling.
On Saturday, November 28th, at about 6:20 PM, a neighbor reported to police a disturbance at Rita's residence. Upon arrival, they found her in cardiac arrest, having been stabbed multiple times. She was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, only to be declared dead after her arrival. Eyewitness reports variously claim that she went home with one or two people after meeting them at Jacques on the prior Tuesday, behavior that struck them as not typical of her style. Rumors abounded in the lay press, at various times suggesting the potential involvement of everything from blackmail (hardly likely, given how out she was to friends, family and community) to Rohypnol (Roofies, or the date-rape drug), but nothing has been substantiated at this point. The only suggestion that seems plausible is that she was murdered by people that she knew; since she was a °6'2-6'3, 225, maybe 230 [pound woman],it seems unlikely that she could have been murdered by someone breaking into her home.
She is a woman, and whether or not you agree with her chosen lifestyle in any aspect, you owe her the respect to treat her as she wished to be treated.
Her death inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and the first Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil held in San Francisco in 1999. Transgender Day of Remembrance is held each November on the anniversary of the death of Rita Hester.
Rita was also known as a large woman who could take care of herself, a fact which makes her murder only more puzzling.
On Saturday, November 28th, at about 6:20 PM, a neighbor reported to police a disturbance at Rita's residence. Upon arrival, they found her in cardiac arrest, having been stabbed multiple times. She was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, only to be declared dead after her arrival. Eyewitness reports variously claim that she went home with one or two people after meeting them at Jacques on the prior Tuesday, behavior that struck them as not typical of her style. Rumors abounded in the lay press, at various times suggesting the potential involvement of everything from blackmail (hardly likely, given how out she was to friends, family and community) to Rohypnol (Roofies, or the date-rape drug), but nothing has been substantiated at this point. The only suggestion that seems plausible is that she was murdered by people that she knew; since she was a °6'2-6'3, 225, maybe 230 [pound woman],it seems unlikely that she could have been murdered by someone breaking into her home.
She is a woman, and whether or not you agree with her chosen lifestyle in any aspect, you owe her the respect to treat her as she wished to be treated.
Her death inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and the first Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil held in San Francisco in 1999. Transgender Day of Remembrance is held each November on the anniversary of the death of Rita Hester.
Rita Hester was an out, transgendered woman who had lived as a full-time woman for over 10 years in the Allston/Brighton community (just west of Boston proper). Comfortable with both herself and the way she was received by all segments of the local communities, Rita was a well-loved patron of both transgender-friendly clubs such as Jacques and straight bars such as Allston's Model Cafe and The Silhouette. She had just returned from performing abroad, a career path which she thoroughly enjoyed. While the press has chosen to focus on Rita's transgendered nature, her friends have instead highlighted on her vivaciousness.
Rita was also known as a large woman who could take care of herself, a fact which makes her murder only more puzzling.
On Saturday, November 28th, at about 6:20 PM, a neighbor reported to police a disturbance at Rita's residence. Upon arrival, they found her in cardiac arrest, having been stabbed multiple times. She was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, only to be declared dead after her arrival. Eyewitness reports variously claim that she went home with one or two people after meeting them at Jacques on the prior Tuesday, behavior that struck them as not typical of her style. Rumors abounded in the lay press, at various times suggesting the potential involvement of everything from blackmail (hardly likely, given how out she was to friends, family and community) to Rohypnol (Roofies, or the date-rape drug), but nothing has been substantiated at this point. The only suggestion that seems plausible is that she was murdered by people that she knew; since she was a °6'2-6'3, 225, maybe 230 [pound woman],it seems unlikely that she could have been murdered by someone breaking into her home.
She is a woman, and whether or not you agree with her chosen lifestyle in any aspect, you owe her the respect to treat her as she wished to be treated.
Her death inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and the first Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil held in San Francisco in 1999. Transgender Day of Remembrance is held each November on the anniversary of the death of Rita Hester.
Rita was also known as a large woman who could take care of herself, a fact which makes her murder only more puzzling.
On Saturday, November 28th, at about 6:20 PM, a neighbor reported to police a disturbance at Rita's residence. Upon arrival, they found her in cardiac arrest, having been stabbed multiple times. She was rushed to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, only to be declared dead after her arrival. Eyewitness reports variously claim that she went home with one or two people after meeting them at Jacques on the prior Tuesday, behavior that struck them as not typical of her style. Rumors abounded in the lay press, at various times suggesting the potential involvement of everything from blackmail (hardly likely, given how out she was to friends, family and community) to Rohypnol (Roofies, or the date-rape drug), but nothing has been substantiated at this point. The only suggestion that seems plausible is that she was murdered by people that she knew; since she was a °6'2-6'3, 225, maybe 230 [pound woman],it seems unlikely that she could have been murdered by someone breaking into her home.
She is a woman, and whether or not you agree with her chosen lifestyle in any aspect, you owe her the respect to treat her as she wished to be treated.
Her death inspired the "Remembering Our Dead" web project and the first Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil held in San Francisco in 1999. Transgender Day of Remembrance is held each November on the anniversary of the death of Rita Hester.
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