SF protest planned over slaying of transgender woman
KTVU spoke with the mother of the victim, 36-year-old Taja DeJesus , at her home in San Jose.
"I'm devastated. I was never prepared for my baby to go before me," said Pamela Linda DeJesus.
She said her transgender daughter Taja was the oldest of her three children. DeJesus named her "Eddy," but soon knew her son was different.
"She asked me, when she was going to grow up to be a girl," said DeJesus when her child was only three years old.
DeJesus said Taja was assaulted by a stranger when she was 13, an incident that left her with post-traumatic stress disorder.
About a decade ago as an adult, Taja moved to San Francisco to be in a place where she felt accepted and safe.
"I just wanted her to be happy and safe. My biggest fear was something happening to her," said DeJesus.
Her worst fear was realized when Taja was stabbed and killed near her apartment in San Francisco on February 1 by a man who killed himself a short time later.
Taja had told her family she would come to San Jose to visit them that Super Bowl Sunday.
"I'm still waiting for her to come home. She was supposed to come home," said DeJesus.
In San Francisco, the place Taja called home, supporters are making banners and signs for a protest and rally at City Hall in memory of Taja and other transgender women who've been killed in California so far this year.
"I'm tired of being afraid for my life," said Danielle Castro, a transgender woman who is Taja's friend. "People are transphobic in this country. This is outrageous."
Taja's mother has a message for other parents.
"Whatever your kid is going through, just love them unconditionally. The world can sometimes be a very cruel place. Your kids need to know you have their back. You love them no matter what," said DeJesus
The rally and protest is scheduled to start at City Hall at 1:30 Tuesday afternoon.
Some protestors plan to speak at the Board of Supervisors meeting. Others plan to block traffic at the intersection of Market and Octavia.