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| Dead In A Motel 6 |
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| Opinion - Editorials | |
| TS-Si | |
| Wednesday, 19 April 2006 16:38 | |
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We know that motel workers in Elk Grove Village, Illinois (USA) found a dead human being . An autopsy indicated death from head injuries due to blunt trauma. The victim was fully clothed. The victim was tentatively identified as Krystal Heskin, 31, of Warren, Michigan.
One thing more: the Elk Grove Police Chief, Stephen Schmidt, said police at first thought Heskin was a woman. "It appeared at first to be a woman but it was not. It's a male," Schmidt said. "We don't know if that's the real name. Obviously there's another name than Krystal. We think that could be the alias."
The early press reports were all so much like that, focused as they were on physical anomalies. Any other such death winds up almost unnoticed on the back pages. But as is so often the case with transsexuals, their birth condition becomes a matter of prurient interest to the police and a sensational hook to an otherwise common story. The police and press were wrong. Just as bad, they were impractical. Taking time out to indulge their bigoted behavior degrades investigation and grants getaway time to a killer.
It turns out that Krystal Heskin, dead at 31, was a woman born transsexual. Krystal was her real name, having legally changed it on May 29, 2001. The fact that she was born transsexual is relevant only because it can lead to at least one of several scenarios guiding investigation into her violent death.
There are other scenarios. According to her family, Ms. Heskin was a kind and loving person. Childhood friends noted the extent of verbal and physical abuse inflicted by peers during her growing up days. Then there is a long time, off and on, boy friend. He and Ms. Heskin were known to police from prior domestic disturbances.
In other words, there is a lot more to the story. As of this writing, the police do not have a suspect, firm motive, or a murder weapon. They do have a buffuddled approach to setting priorities.
The investigation continues.
What must not continue is the trivializing of a death just because the dead person was born transsexual. Chief Stephen Schmidt's comment that "It appeared at first to be a woman but it was not. It's a male."
It? Is that how Schmidt talks about all dead bodies?
The Elk Grove Village Police need better leadership, community awareness, recruitment, scientific knowledge, and sensitivity. The press must professionalize their journalistic practices and seek community condemnation of peeping toms who masquerade as objective reporters.
We have come but a small portion of a long road that lies before us. Perhaps one day, a person born transsexual, man or woman, can live and die with dignity. Perhaps even in Elk Grove Village, Illinois (USA).
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