Quanesha “Cocoa” Shantel, a 26-year-old Black transgender woman and a drag performer, was killed on Sunday, November 10 in North Carolina. A 31-year-old man, Jeremy Reynolds, has been arrested in connection with her death, following reports that Shantel was in a romantic relationship with Reynolds and was breaking up with him, according to Them.
Shantel is one of “at least” 30 transgender or gender-nonconforming individuals who died as a result of violence in 2024, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The HRC notes that this number is at least 3o because trans and gender non-conforming deaths are often unreported or misreported, as was the case for Cocoa, who was deadnamed and reported as a man in the initial article by WFMY News 2.
The 19th, an independent, nonprofit news organization, reports that trans and gender-nonconforming individuals frequently lack updated documentation, and because of this, many news reports and even governmental records like death certificates misgender these individuals after death. The publication also reports that gender identity and sexual orientation are not tracked comprehensively anywhere in the U.S., leading to difficulties in accurately reporting trans deaths.
She went by the stage name Quanesha Shantel for ballroom and drag performances alike, which she took part in across the South and Chicago, and she had recently enrolled in nursing school as well. According to the Greensboro News and Record, Shantel had been living out as a trans woman since she was 11 years old, with the help and support of her mother Toi Ni’Cole Ratliff.
In a statement about Cocoa’s death, the HRC also wrote that it is clear fatal violence disproportionately affects Black transgender women and other transgender women of color, with 53% of trans and gender non-conforming deaths in 2024 being Black transgender women.
“Like so many of our trans siblings, Cocoa should be with her loved ones today …” writes Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for the HRC’s Transgender Justice Initiative. “I pray that Cocoa’s friends and family find some measure of peace and joy in the memories of her in this extremely difficult time.”
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