Tayy Dior Thomas, a transgender teenager from Alabama, was killed because of her 'confident and loving nature,' family says

The family of Tayy Dior Thomas hopes the 17-year-old's shooting death last month in Mobile will spark a change in Alabama's hate crimes law.

Thomas was shot and killed May 7 on Darwood Drive in Mobile.

Family members say Thomas, a transgender woman, was killed by her romantic partner out of fear their relationship would be exposed.

Carl Mitchell Washington, Jr. was arrested and charged in Thomas' death.

He is being held at the Mobile Metro Jail without bail on charges of murder and discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle, according to court records.

Washington allegedly fired 18 shots at Thomas' vehicle, according to court records.

Mobile Police said officers responded to a report of shots fired around 3:30 a.m. on May 7. When police arrived, they found a vehicle had crashed into a house and Thomas was dead in the front yard.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 17.

Rolanda Carl, Thomas' grandmother, remembered her as a kind and generous person who loved children and was always ready to care for her four younger siblings or cousins.

“That’s what I remember most about his personality. He was a generous person,” Carl said. “That trusting, loving nature got him killed.”

Thomas and Washington had been a couple for more than a year, Carl said, although they kept it a secret.

Carl believes that when Washington realized their relationship could be exposed, he killed Thomas.

“When [her family] went to see [her] at the funeral home, (Thomas) still had traces of dried tears on [her] face,” Carl said. “I want [Washington] to have enough time there to think about what he did, to have some sense of empathy and remorse.

Carl says she hopes Thomas' death will gain national attention and lead to changes in the law that would allow Washington to face charges under the state's hate crimes law.

Alabama's hate crimes law does not provide enhanced penalties for crimes motivated by sexual orientation or gender identity, according to the NAACP.

A 2023 study by the Human Rights Campaign, a national LGBTQ advocacy group, found that more than 20% of transgender and gender-expansive people whose killers are known were killed by a romantic, sexual or intimate partner.

Thomas was the sixth transgender or gender-expansive person to be killed in the United States in April and May of this year, according to HRC.

Court records used Thomas' dead name and early reporting, including a report from AL.com, misgendered Thomas.

AL.com's initial report was based on a police statement indicating the victim was male but did not use the dead name Thomas.

Thomas' name was not released by police at the time of AL.com's initial report because the victim's family had not yet been notified, a police spokesperson said May 7.

Washington has pleaded not guilty.

Washington's lawyers did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication.