Liara Kaylee Tsai, a 35-year-old transgender woman and dedicated volunteer for The Trevor Project, was tragically killed in Minnesota last week. Her former partner, Margot Lewis, has been charged with second-degree murder.
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| Liara Kaylee Tsai, 35 |
Tsai lived in Minneapolis and was found in the back seat of a car driven by Lewis after it crashed into a guardrail in Olmsted County, roughly 100 miles southeast of Minneapolis.
When Olmsted County sheriff’s deputies arrived, Lewis was sitting in the middle of Interstate 90. "Two people who stopped to offer help told police they saw a dead person in the back seat," reported Minnesota Public Radio.
Deputies confirmed that Tsai had not been killed in the crash but was found wrapped in bedding, a mattress, and a tarp, with a puncture wound on her neck. She was cold to the touch. Investigators later discovered her bed and bedclothes in Minneapolis were soaked in blood.
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| Margot Lewis, 32 Olmsted - County Adult Detention Center |
Lewis now faces two counts of second-degree murder in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, and “felony interference with a dead body or scene of death” in Olmsted County. She is currently held in Hennepin County on a $1 million bond. Authorities do not believe the crime was motivated by anti-trans bias, as Lewis is also transgender.
Lewis had been visiting Tsai from North Liberty, Iowa. Tsai had recently relocated from Iowa City, near North Liberty, to Minneapolis. As a music producer and club DJ, she quickly gained a following in the Twin Cities during her six weeks there.
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| Liara Kaylee Tsai, 35 |
"I was so excited and so happy to see her move up to the Twin Cities. It was something she had been wanting to do for years, and her music was her life, her music was her soul," said her friend Olivia Anderson. "If you met Liara, it’s an experience you will remember and hold with you for the rest of your life. She had a huge impact on my life and who I am."
Another friend, Mega Solga, shared, "She was the most fearless person I’ve ever met. She was the truest person I ever met. She knew exactly who she was, especially as a trans woman. She had no fear showing the world who she was."
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| Liara Kaylee Tsai via Facebook |
Tsai also served in the United States Air Force, was a spoken-word artist, and a crisis counselor with The Trevor Project, a mental health and suicide prevention organization for LGBTQ+ youth.
"Liara was a valued member of our 988 Crisis Intervention team and part of our Trevor community," The Trevor Project posted on its LinkedIn page.
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| The Trevor Project |
"She is remembered by our team for her empowering gentleness and remarkable ability to center the feelings and experiences of LGBTQ+ young people. Liara saved lives through her crisis intervention work, and we are heartbroken that the world has lost an incredibly bright light far too soon."
Tsai’s untimely death is a great loss for transgender community because of the impact she had on so many lives. Especially those who involved in advocacy and public-facing roles are deeply saddened by her demise.