Tatiana "Tee Tee" Whetstone, 33, a Black transgender woman, was found beaten to death in a trash can in an alley in the 8400 block of South Ingleside Avenue in Chatham, on Chicago's South Side, on Friday, March 18, 2022. The Chicago Police Department investigated her death.
Someone found her remains about 12:45 p.m., Chicago police said. The Cook County medical examiner's office later ruled her death a homicide by assault.
Relatives had reported her missing before she was found, according to one report. Police did not release how long she had been in the alley, where she was attacked, or when she was last seen alive.
No arrests were reported. Police did not release a description of a suspect or a possible motive, and no reward tied to her case could be found. She was identified publicly through Brave Space Alliance, an LGBTQ center on the South Side, rather than first through police.
Her death, coming days after the body of Evanston activist Elise Malary was found, shook Chicago's transgender community. On March 31, 2022, Transgender Day of Visibility, Brave Space Alliance led a rally at Daley Plaza in their honor. "When two Black trans women are found dead in the Chicago area in a matter of a week, there's nothing to celebrate," said Jae Rice, the group's director of communications. Mayor Lori Lightfoot wrote that the deaths of Malary and "Tatiana 'Tee Tee' Labelle" had "pricked our consciousness" to violence against trans women. In July 2022, the Chicago Tribune described another woman as the city's second known transgender homicide victim of that year.
Her name appears in public records in more than one form, Whetstone and Labelle, and the record does not say which she used day to day. Transgender victims are sometimes listed under names they no longer used, which can make it harder for people who knew them to recognize their case.
The 8400 block of South Ingleside Avenue is in Chatham, a long established, largely Black, middle class neighborhood on the South Side, known for its brick bungalows. The alleys behind its homes are used daily for garbage pickup and parking, so neighbors may remember a car or a person in the alley in the days before March 18.
Chicago recorded about 720 homicides in 2022, down from about 800 in 2021, the deadliest year in the city in a quarter century. Chicago police reported clearing roughly half of the city's homicides in the years from 2019 through 2023, though those figures count cases closed without charges, so the share of killings that led to a criminal case was lower.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Tatiana Whetstone could be found in news archives or public records. More than 4 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who knew Tee Tee, who saw her in the days before she was reported missing, or who noticed anything in the alley off South Ingleside Avenue, may be able to help. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a car seen leaving the area or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Chicago Police Department's anonymous tip line at (833) 408-0069 or submit a tip online at CPDTIP.com, or contact Cook County Crime Stoppers at (800) 535-STOP (7867).
