Friends honor transgender woman who was killed by father with vigil in Piedmont Park

ATLANTA — A candlelight vigil was held Monday night for a transgender woman who police say was killed by her own father.

Dozens of people showed up to honor Kathryn Newhouse, 19, in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park.

She was killed in Cherokee County a couple of weeks ago.

Now, Newhouse’s friends are using her tragedy to spread awareness about the threat the trans community is facing.

“She was like a little sister to me. She was a real sweetheart,” Journey Jennings said.

Police say Newhouse, an Asian American transgender woman, was killed by her father inside their family home last month.

Investigators say her father shot and killed her before turning the gun on himself.

“I would’ve never imagined something like this happening to her,” Jennings said.

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Channel 2′s Michael Seiden was at Piedmont Park Monday night as supporters of the LGBTQIA community came together to honor Newhouse’s life.

“We had passion for transgender rights. We adored fashion,” Jennings said.

Monday’s memorial served as more than just a tribute to Newhouse.

“I want people to realize that violence against trans people and violence against autistic people and violence against Asian Americans is real and it’s an epidemic,” Jennings said.

According to the human rights campaign, 2021 marked the deadliest year for transgender and gender non-conforming people in the USA with at least 50 people being killed.

“I don’t want stories like Kathryn’s swept under the rug. I want change and action to come from this. I think it’s important,” Jennings said.

It is important to note that law enforcement hasn’t confirmed the circumstances around why Newhouse was killed.

But two of her friends told Seiden that she had a tough childhood and was actually looking to move out of Georgia.

It’s unclear if her transition was the reason behind her killing.

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