Ashanti Carmon was killed a block from Washington D.C., shot multiple times and discovered by police in Fairmount Heights, Md. on the morning of March 30.

That tenth of a mile from D.C. is a significant distance for the family of the transgender woman. While D.C. offers direct monetary assistance for burials of murder victims, Prince George’s County requires families to pay out of pocket and then apply for a reimbursement.

“It’s been a nightmare for me, especially right now, trying to raise these finds to give her a proper burial, which is no more than what she deserves,” says Deborah Carmon, her aunt, who is handling the logistics of her niece’s untimely death. “We’re all dealing with the fact that my baby’s gone. But now we’re dealing with not being able to give her a timely burial.”

Prince George’s Police Department is investigating the fatal shooting, and has no updates on the case as of Monday, according to spokesperson Kyndle Johnson.

Right now, the body of 27-year-old Carmon is at Capitol Mortuary, a D.C. funeral home that isn’t charging the family a storage fee. Earline Budd, a transgender activist, says that Capitol Mortuary is “one of the funeral homes that is very sensitive and has dealt with a lot of transgender deaths. They’re really good at making the individuals look like themselves.”

Budd, who got to know Carmon through visits she took to visit friends at the harm reduction nonprofit HIPS, says that she has already planned a funeral service for her: the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington D.C. has volunteered its space, ministers, and singers. But before they can have the funeral, she’s trying to raise money for the burial. 

“This is hardship on the family, especially the aunt,” says Budd. “It’s really the aunt all alone doing everything. The father has not accepted Ashanti as Ashanti.”

Deborah Carmon declined to comment on whether other family members supported her niece. “She was just a beautiful person,” she says. “She had a rough childhood, she did. At the end of the day, she loved to party, she loved to hang out, just the normal things. That girl loved shopping, getting her nails done, keeping her hair pretty. She was a young woman living her life.”

Both Budd and Carmon have set up GoFundMe pages to help cover the costs of the funeral, though the fundraising is slow going.

Budd is also calling on Prince George’s County to change its revisit its policy for victim assistance. “This is a family that’s grieving the loss of someone who is brutally killed, and it was unexpected. Nobody expected her to be shot to death,” says Budd. “The real issue is that Prince George’s does not work the same way D.C. does when it comes to murder victims.”

Previously:
Transgender Woman Shot To Death Near The D.C. Border Will Be Remembered At Candlelight Vigil