No arrests have been made yet in the murder last week of a transgender woman in South Philadelphia.
Police are continuing to investigate the homicide of 31-year-old Stacey Blahnik, the overall house mother for House of Blahnik.
Blahnik was found Oct. 11 by her boyfriend inside their home in the 1800 block of Manton Street. Police say Blahnik was strangled to death by a pillowcase. There was no sign of forced entry.
Police are declining to comment on a possible motive for the killing or the description of any suspects yet.
The local LGBT community joined together Saturday night to remember Blahnik in a candlelight vigil at Love Park. Following Blahnik’s funeral Tuesday morning, more than 100 people gathered at the William Way LGBT Community Center to pay tribute to her.
Robert Burns, executive director of The Colours Organization Inc. and a member of the House of Blahnik, said the community gatherings have provided an emotional outlet for those coping with Blahnik’s death.
“The community is mourning the loss of Stacey Blahnik and, at the same time, trying to celebrate her life and the lives she touched during the time she was with us,” Burns said. “These were opportunities to come together as a community to really support one another as we deal with this tragic loss.”
Alvernian Prestige of the House of Prestige met Blahnik in the late 1990s, shortly after she graduated high school.
He said her personality made her a natural for a leadership position in the ballroom community.
“She was a loving, fun person and just a real people’s person,” Prestige said. “I knew her before she transitioned when she was in Baltimore, and I took her under my wing and that was before she got into the House of Blahnik and the whole ballroom scene. We’d been friends since that time. I called her my niece, and she called me her uncle.”
Blahnik served as a mentor to dozens of local youth and house members throughout the country. Burns said the young people are finding ways to cope with their grief.
“They’re adjusting,” he said. “They’re trying to move through the sadness and the pain and looking to one another for support. Particularly in the ballroom community, the youth oftentimes look to their leaders for support, so I think there’s now this even greater understanding of how great a person and a leader that we lost. And I think the young people are just trying to deal with all of the questions.”
Burns said that, while an arrest in the case would be progress, the community would still be grappling with the broader issues that Blahnik’s murder represents.
“It would provide some level of closure for those concerned about why her life was taken so early from her, but it still wouldn’t completely address the issue of how and why so many LGBT folks are lost to violence in our community.”
Franny Price, chair of the LGBT Police Liaison Committee, said she and the committeemembers are planning to press police for answers in the case.
A tribute to Blahnik will be held at 7 p.m. Oct. 29 at the center, 1315 Spruce St. The event will feature performances by dancers from Bodies in Motion Dance School, local singers, poets and spoken-word artists, and will include a period of reflection, during which Blahnik’s friends and family members will be invited to share personal stories.