Four years have passed since the murder of local transwoman Stacey Blahnik, and an investigator working the case said an eyewitness is needed to move forward.
Blahnik, 31, was strangled in her home on the 1800 block of Manton Street on Oct. 11, 2010. She was a popular community leader and house mother for House of Blahnik.
Lieutenant Norman Davenport told PGN last week that investigators exhausted their list of potential suspects.
“The detectives did develop a potential suspect but the alibi panned out so that person was cleared. And there were other potential suspects who have all been cleared as well,” Davenport said. “So we need help from the public, anyone who may have seen anything.”
Davenport said Blahnik frequently had visitors to the house, which she shared with her boyfriend Malik Moorer. A witness who may have seen someone coming or going from the house that day, Davenport said, could provide the needed break in the case.
“If a witness could identify someone entering or leaving the residence on the day of the murder, that’s what we need,” he said. “Sometimes in these cases, someone might have seen something and just missed it or thought it was insignificant. But if we had someone who said, ‘I saw a man leaving the property at noon, driving a yellow Toyota,’ that could be what we need to crack this. Any information that could help us move it forward would be appreciated.”
Moorer, who moved to Atlanta earlier this year, said he’s working to move on. But, the anniversary always brings the incident back.
“Sometimes when I think about it, it seems like just yesterday and other times it seems like a lot of time between now and then,” he said.
Moorer said an arrest would mean justice both for Blahnik and for himself; he said he was the subject of many rumors after the murder, although he was cleared by investigators.
“Until they catch the person, I won’t be able to get any real rest. It hurts me that I could meet someone here in Atlanta, and they could think I still had something to do with this. I want justice for Stacey. And I want to clear my name,” he said. “I’m still hearing things said about me, and it hurts. This changed my life. It destroyed my life in many ways. I suffered enough, and it’s painful on top of that to be associated in any way with this.”
Moorer noted that the four-year anniversary this year coincides with Philly Trans* March, and with National Coming Out Day, and he encouraged the trans community and allies to participate.
“It’s ironic that it’s on that day. I really hope people go out and support it.”