Friends Raise Funds to Honor Undocumented Trans Activist After ‘Suspicious’ Death

By Aura Bogado Jun 20, 2014

Zoraida "Ale" Reyes’s body was found an Anaheim, Calif. parking lot last Thursday. Reyes, who was 28, was a well-known undocumented and trans activist, working with groups like the DeColores Queer Orange County and the Orange County Dream Team. 

The local sheriff’s department is investigating Reyes’s death as suspicious. According to the Los Angeles Times, the local sheriff’s department says that despite an autopsy, the cause of Reyes’s death has yet to be determined, but it does appear that her body was moved after her death. Authorities are awaiting a toxicology report, which could take months to conclude. Transgender women are disproportionately the targets of violence and murder–and Reyes’s community is stressing that her identity is most likely connected to her death.

Reyes’s friends are raising funds for her farewell services this coming Sunday and Monday. Supporters aim to raise $15,000 to cover all of the associated costs–they’re about 80 percent funded so far.