At 26 years old, Brandi Seals was murdered on a residential street in Houston, Texas, in 2017. Initial reports about her death lacked information and were insensitive, and there are no leads or suspects in her case.
Content Warning! This case is sensitive, and it involves marginalized and sensationalized people. LGBTQ+, Trans, black, and women. Please, take care of your mental health.
Timeline of Events
December 13th, 2017 (Wednesday) 6:00 AM
Ollie Carter, the neighbor, reports hearing six gunshots in the area Seals's body was.
A short time later, Seals's body was found dead out of the SE Houston home under construction. The shooting happened at the intersection of Brandon and Redbud Streets, and this was in the Sunnyside neighborhood. This area, according to google maps history, has been in development for years.
According to the news, shell casings were found at the intersection. Seals had then moved from the intersection on foot before collapsing and dying. Seals was in the driveaway that was under construction.
It is not clear if Seals was driving and got out of her vehicle or if she had been walking. Only one news article, the Outisna, clearly reported her being a car, and they also reported a bullet struck her car.
Fox26 also mentions these stray bullets. They reported one hit "her car" but did not clarify if they meant Seals car or Ollie Carter, the neighbor. Since this news report was misgendering Seals, I believe they meant "her car" was the neighbor. They also do not mention Seals being in a vehicle. There is no mention of which was Seals was oriented or where the shell casings were originated precisely. They show the bullet holes on the news report. The car was red. Ollie Carter was filmed in the Fox26 news report standing and leaning on a red pickup truck, but I failed to see a bullet hole.
One bullet hit the neighbor's white waffle-style garage door but also failed to show which neighbor. However, in the news report, the bullet hole might be able to be seen on the unfinished house's garage door.
My husband, a gun hobbyist, went over the news report, and he had some insight. The shell casings indicate that the gun used was probably a semi-automatic and probably handgun. The round shape on the red car door might indicate it was a straight-on shot, while the shape of the garage door bullet hole has two possibilities. The bullet could have hit at an angle, or it was "keyholing" when the bullet strikes something, and it causes it to become unstable, creating that type of ragged bullet hole.
Fox26 Houston by John Donnelly made the initial news report this day. This news story is insensitive and relies on speculation and misgendering. They report Seals was a sex worker to fund her medical transition and implied she also was a drug user. Detective Fil Waters, HPD Homicide, makes a statement that was later apologized for. Waters speculated Seals was "walking the street" and that someone may have killed her out of hate.
December 14th, 2017
Police are still investigating but have not released any leads, suspects, or any more information.
It is said that Atlantis Narcisse, Founder of Save Our Sisters, a local group for black Transgender women, was the first to identify the victim positively.
"TransGriot Blog" written by award-winning Monica Roberts, posts and calls out the lack of empathy and information from the law enforcement and news. This post might be the first one to report on Seals death with accuracy.
A vigil was held this day at the location of the murder at 7 PM.
December 15th, 2017
A Vigil held at Houston City Hall at 5 PM, where they lit candles. The vigil was attended by Monica Roberts, Transform Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner, and Chief Of Police Art Acevedo. There were many speeches this night. Chief Of Police Art Acevedo apologized on behalf of his detective for their "lack of sensitivity." "As insensitive as the officer's comments were, I believe it was a mistake of the mind and not of the heart." Chief Acevedo said. The police will work with The Montrose Center to better train officers.
- a now 404 page link but using way back machine you can still read it on KHOu-TV's page. https://web.archive.org/web/20180119175201/https://www.khou.com/news/hpd-chief-addresses-remark-made-by-investigator-in-transgender-murder-case/499823726
December 16th, 2017
Pink News reports a Facebook post by Seals's school friend. "The fact that it's someone that I went to school with and the fact that my aunt and uncle's home and car had bullet holes shows me that this world is crazy and some ppl have no humanity… I'm praying for [her] family". https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/12/16/houston-mayor-speaks-at-vigil-for-28th-trans-person-killed-in-the-us-in-2017/
December 20th, 2017
Funeral Services are announced.
December 23rd, 2017
The community was invited to the service and held at Waddell's Riverside Funeral Directors, 6938 Westover Street, Houston, TX 77087. Viewing started at 9 AM and the services at 11 PM. Flowers were welcome, and they stated her favorite color was purple.
Brandi Seals
Seals is survived by Aunt Maria Cheeks, who gave an interview with Fox26. Seals has a large family who loved her and accepted her, and they described her as beautiful and loving. It seems Brandi's family prefers privacy, so I will not be posting names or other identifying info.
"Whoever took [her] life, they have to answer, Maybe the police might not can get you, but you will have to answer to one person. And that's the higher power of God. You will have to answer to him." - Maria Cheeks
We know more about Seals criminal history than we do of her as a person, and that is wrong. From the moment her death was reported in the news, they speculated about her past, deadnamed and misgendered her. This type of reporting creates bias within the public and puts her case at risk of not being solved. Seals was a sex worker for survival and had petty crimes on her record. It's possible she struggled with drug addiction. The community had to step forward to get basic information about Seals correct, including her name. Brandi may have spelled her name as Brandie, and she sometimes went by Deone.
Factors at play
"Brandi is the 24th trans person killed in the US in 2017. She was also the 18th Black trans person (17 trans feminine) killed in 2017 and the fourth trans person in Texas this year." https://transgriot.blogspot.com/2017/12/number-24-rest-in-power-brandi-seals.html?m=1
Texas had/has a lack of legal protections for transgender people. Social factors like discrimination, transphobia, racism, and more were rampant then and now.
In 2017, in particular, the Texas "Bathroom bills" were being debated in the state, which could have contributed to an uprise in violence against transgender people.
Conclusion
We have no information then or now. No leads and no details.
Anyone with information about Seals' murder should call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).
Mental Health Resources For Us
National Alliance On Mental Illness and 800-950-6264 https://nami.org/Home
The Trevor Project's 24/7/365 Lifeline at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386) or TrevorChat, their online instant messaging option, or TrevorText, a text-based support option. If you are looking for peer support, you can visit TrevorSpace from anywhere in the world.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255)
Trans Lifeline at 877-565-8860
GLAAD List Of Resources https://www.glaad.org/transgender/resources
Upstairs:
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/transgender-person-shot-killed-in-neighborhood
https://outinsa.com/houston-trans-woman-28th-murdered-u-s-year/
https://www.outsmartmagazine.com/tag/brandi-seals/
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/12/16/houston-mayor-speaks-at-vigil-for-28th-trans-person-killed-in-the-us-in-2017/
https://www.khou.com/article/news/hpd-chief-addresses-remark-made-by-investigator-in-transgender-murder-case/285-499823726
https://uncovered.com/cases/debarione-brandi-seals
Social Media Sources; https://www.facebook.com/events/397824090651366/
Downstairs:
(Read this article. This blogger did a better job than the news.)
https://transgriot.blogspot.com/2017/12/number-24-rest-in-power-brandi-seals.html?m=1
https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-mourns-brandi-seals-a-black-transgender-woman-murdered-in-houston
https://www.sisterspgh.org/remembering-our-dead2017/2020/7/1/brandi-seals
https://avp.org/ncavp-mourns-death-brandi-seals-black-transgender-woman-killed-houston-texas/
https://avp.org/ncavp-mourns-death-brandi-seals-black-transgender-woman-killed-houston-texas/
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/12/14/transgender-woman-who-was-a-loving-beautiful-person-becomes-the-28th-killed-this-year/
https://www.equalitytexas.org/services-for-brandi-seals-this-saturday-community-is-welcome/
http://www.newnownext.com/brandi-seals-transgender-murder/12/2017/
https://transgenderlawcenter.org/archives/14162
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/12/16/1724964/-Her-name-was-Brandi-Seals
https://www.gayly.com/brandi-seals-28th-transgender-murder-2017
https://www.mic.com/articles/186810/transgender-woman-shot-and-killed-in-houston
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pexSsbRjFVQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0_u5R0KRYo
We are praying for the intercession of Santa Muerte on behalf of Brandi Seals.
Will you consider supporting me and the cases by sharing them on your social media? Follows, likes and comments will also help! Monetary gifts will go to coffee, self-care, and right back into the work. https://linktr.ee/weathersrabbits
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