Dedontae ’Dominique’ Jackson, a 30-year-old Black transgender woman from Jackson, Mississippi, left home in January 2021 and was found fatally wounded in her car late on January 25 after shots were fired and the vehicle struck a utility pole. Responding officers discovered her still in the driver’s seat; she was pronounced dead at the scene. Family members had reported her missing days earlier, and social media pleas had circulated as loved ones searched.

Dominique was a well-known figure in the local ballroom scene, known as Mother of the House of Redd, and she founded The Ladi Redd Inc. Early reports misgendered and deadnamed her, prompting criticism from civil-rights groups who linked the case to broader concerns about violence against transgender people and gaps in hate-crime protections. Police initially said no suspect or motive had been identified; in February 2021 Branden Deshon McLaurin was arrested and charged in connection with the killing.