Transgender woman Naomi Hersi murdered in London hotel room
A man and a teenage girl have been arrested after a trans woman was found dead in a London hotel room.
Naomi Hersi was found with knife injuries near to Heathrow Airport and pronounced dead at the scene 30 minutes later.
The 36-year-old, who lived in Mill Hill, north London, was described on social media as a “tennis lover, music junkie, film and tv addict”.
In a horrific twist, Hersi’s final post to Twitter was a Vice article titled “Trans Women of Color Face an Epidemic of Violence and Murder”.
Neighbours paid tribute to Hersi, who was of Somali origin and had also lived in the US.
One neighbour told Evening Standard: “She was fun to be around and a real character. She was into music and tennis. She was a nice person.
“We are very shocked by the whole thing. She only used to go away for one night at the most. When she disappeared for more I knew something was wrong.
“I saw her Whatsapp went offline which was unusual, she was always on her phone.”
Another neighbour said: “Naomi was a flamboyant, lovely fun person. I think she had problems in her life but was well liked. We are devastated to lose a friend and neighbour.”
Tributes also flooded in on social media.
Jesse McDonald, 24, of Hounslow, appeared at Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court charged with murder.
A 17-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was charged with assisting an offender.
She was released on bail and will appear at the Old Bailey on 17 April.
