A 34-year-old African-American transgender woman was killed in 1998 but police still haven’t arrested her killer. Now, 25 years later, the Boston Police Department continues asking for the public’s help.
Rita Hester, who was raised in Hartford, Connecticut, was brutally stabbed to death in her apartment at 21 Park Vale Ave. in Brighton on Nov. 28, 1998, Boston police said.
She was last seen leaving the Silhouette Lounge on Brighton Avenue around 5:00 p.m., according to police.
Rita Hester was found stabbed to death in her Brighton apartment in November 1998.Boston Police Department
“Rita’s murder shook the LGBTQ+ community and the Brighton neighborhood she resided in,” Boston police said in a statement. “Rita’s legacy has forged several initiatives including the Transgender Day of Remembrance.”
The day, which is celebrated on Nov. 20 every year, was founded by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999, according to GLAAD, to honor the memory of Hester.
“With so many seeking to erase transgender people — sometimes in the most brutal ways possible — it is vitally important that those we lose are remembered, and that we continue to fight for justice,” Smith said on the GLAAD website.
Anyone with information related to Hester’s killing is asked to contact the Boston Police Homicide Unit at 617-343-4470. Anonymous tips can be made by calling the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1 (800) 494-TIPS or by texting the word ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463).
