On December 5, 2013, Betty Skinner, a 52-year-old disabled woman, was found dead in her apartment in Cleveland, Ohio. She lived in the Deaconess Krafft Center, an assisted living facility located on Devonshire Road. Betty was discovered by her home health aide, who had left the residence the previous evening and returned the next morning to find her deceased. The cause of death was severe head trauma, consistent with blunt force injuries, indicating that she had been beaten.
Police ruled her death as a homicide.
Betty Skinner was a physically disabled woman who required assisted living support, including regular visits from a home health care worker. She had been residing at Deaconess Krafft for many years and was known to be a friendly and sociable individual. The community was shocked by her death, with fellow residents expressing disbelief that anyone in the building could have committed such an act. Given that there were no immediate signs of forced entry, investigators speculated that the assailant may have been someone familiar with the building or had gained access without causing suspicion.
Betty's murder was one of two homicides involving transgender women in Cleveland during that time, prompting concerns from both the local and broader LGBTQ community about the motivations behind these attacks. Many activists believed that Betty’s murder, like that of Brittany Stergis—who was killed around the same time—might have been motivated by hate. The tragic nature of these incidents led to public outcry, and law enforcement called for any information that could lead to identifying the perpetrators. However, Betty Skinner's case remains unsolved, and authorities continue to seek leads to bring her killer to justice.
