It’s been five years since Stacey Blahnik was killed, but the pain is still palpable for her loved ones.
“The person I was in love with was murdered. It affects me every day,” said Malik Moorer, Blahnik’s boyfriend, who found her body in their South Philadelphia home Oct. 11, 2010. Blahnik, 31, had been strangled with a pillowcase.
“It was like an out-of-body experience,” Moorer said about finding Blahnik. “When I touched her, it was like I felt death. It was surreal and a moment I think about every day.”
A detective working the case told PGN this week that they do have a suspect, but the case is stalled because he is not cooperating.
“It’s unsolved because of a lack of cooperation from the suspect,” said homicide unit Sgt. Robert Kuhlmeier.
A detective told PGN last year that a suspect had been identified but he produced an alibi; Kuhlmeier was unsure if the suspect he referenced was the same person.
“This person was brought down, talked to and he refused to cooperate,” he said. “There were some steps taken regarding DNA in this case but unfortunately, legally, our hands are tied as to how we can approach the subject.”
Apart from the suspect deciding to cooperate, Kuhlmeier said the case could see a break if someone comes forward to whom the suspect has confessed.
“If the suspect approaches someone and talks about the case, we’d like to talk to them,” he said. “Sometimes that can be enough to push a case over the top.”
With five years now passed, Moorer said he has lost hope that the killer will be arrested.
“I pray for an arrest every day, but I’m not hopeful anymore,” Moorer said. “People know stuff and they’re not saying it.”
Chyna Whyte, who was friends with Blahnik since their childhood in Washington, D.C., expressed frustration with the investigation.
“We’ve been disappointed by how the situation has been handled over the years, and it makes you feel like if she wasn’t transgender, this would have been handled differently,” she said. “Me, her mother, Malik, other friends, we all feel like, are we ever going to get any closure? Her mother is still hurt today. She had two little sisters who are still hurt. Here we are five years later and still we don’t know anything more than the day it first happened.”
She echoed Moorer’s disbelief upon learning the news of Blahnik’s murder.
“I never ever expected to get a phone call like that; I grew up with her and she was here one minute and just gone the next,” Whyte said, noting that Blahnik was a loyal and generous friend. “This lady had a heart of gold. She’d do anything in the world for anyone, anyone. She was one of those people you could call at 2 in the morning crying, and she’d say, ‘Sis, everything will be all right.’ She had a heart like no other. So when something like this happens to someone so genuine and so loved, it hit the community hard.”
“She had a genuine heart, a genuine love for people,” added Tayana Woodard, another longtime friend of Blahnik. “She was very smart, and beautiful. She was loved by many people.”
Blahnik was a popular figure in the ballroom community, and house mother of the House of Blahnik.
In the five years since her murder, the trans community and trans issues have garnered more visibility, Moorer noted, but violence against transgender women is still rampant — and a public outcry is needed, he said.
“The world is fascinated with transgender people; you can mention Caitlyn Jenner, Janet Mock or Laverne Cox and people are fascinated. But when a transgender woman gets murdered, no one cares,” he said.
Whyte added that, even though five years have passed, calls for justice for Blahnik shouldn’t subside.
“I’ve seen other things happen to transgender people in the city and money’s been raised for rewards, but it seems like Stacey’s case was just pushed aside. And it’s frustrating,” she said. “Why can’t we keep this out in the public? We’ve had events for her and a lot of people have come out in support, but we need more support from the community. We need it from everyone; everyone has a part to play in this because this could happen to any one of us.”
Woodard said a break in the case would provide invaluable solace for Blahnik’s loved ones.
“It would be so important,” she said. “It would be a wonderful thing for the community as a whole, and for her family. And Stacey could finally rest in true peace.”