Keisha Wells was cherished by both her family and friends.
"Keisha is a very sweet, kind lovely person," said transgender wellness specialist who only goes by the name Devinity.
Over the weekend, the 54-year-old's life was cut short. Friends say Wells was hanging out at a bar in the 9000 block of Detroit Ave. On Sunday morning, just a couple of blocks away, she was found dead on W. 87th and Detroit Avenue.
"Everybody has a right to live the way that they choose to live, and their lives not taken," said Regina Spicer, Well's aunt.
Wells was a transgender woman and although police have not categorized her death as a hate crime, Devinity from the LGBTQ community center says she has her suspicions that might be the case.
"My opinion is that they are targeting these people because they feel that they are hush, no one is going to care, nobody from that particular side of the fence has anybody that is going to care for them, so let's target these particular people because I won't get anytime and I'll get away with it," she said.
Wells is the second transgender woman killed in Cleveland this year alone, and 2017 was the deadliest year for transgender folks in our country. Many of those murders are unsolved, but Well's family wants her killer held accountable.
"We will definitely do what we can to make sure that justice is served," said Spicer while holding back tears.
