| Preferred Name | Kitty Monroe | City | Phoenix | ||
| Other Names Used | Marcos Lugo | State | AZ | ||
| Age | 43 | Gender Identity | Gender Nonconforming | ||
| Race | Latino | Date of Death | 01/01/2024 |
Crime Category: Altercation/Accident | Weapon Used: Vehicular Homicide | Homeless
On January 1st, 2024, in Phoenix AZ, Kitty was struck by multiple cars after being in an altercation with an unnamed man and woman in a parking lot at around 2 AM.
Report: “Brissa Lugo [sister] said a witness told her a man and woman were chasing Lugo, with the man slugging him in the back with a gun. Collapsed on the ground, Lugo was then run over by the man’s black two-door truck, which was described as making a loud noise as if it had no exhaust. She was told another driver then accidentally hit Lugo.”
Sister: “She said he was a past victim of violence for presenting as a woman, and she believes he was dressed as a woman when he was slain.”
Report: “After dying at about 2 a.m., Lugo was found lifeless in the middle of East Broadway Road near South Eighth Place. Lugo was seen on video surveillance being chased by an individual the night he died, one of the victim’s sisters said police told her. The sister said witnesses told her Lugo was pleading for bystanders to help.
Kassandra Lugo [sister] said police told her they had questioned someone in connection with their investigation into Marcos Lugo’s homicide. The family knows of no charges filed in the case.”
Family members said police have informed them Lugo was accidentally struck by multiple vehicles after a black Ford F-150 appears to have purposely hit him following a fight near the Casa de Licores liquor store.
Marcos Lugo’s body was found draped in a fur coat his mother had lent him to shield him from the early morning winter cold. His family fears the coat’s black color combined with New Year’s fireworks smoke under a dark sky led to at least one other vehicle accidentally striking him.”
Last Public Update: 03/10/2024
Location: The parking lot of Casa de Licores, a liquor drive-thru on Broadway Road near Ninth Street, Pheonix, AR, at about 2:00 a.m.
Personal Information:
Kitty, who also went by his birth name, Marcos, was gender nonconforming. He appears to have been homeless and struggled with addiction. He was also a painter which he details in the included interview.
Sister: “For all my life I knew him to go back and forth” between male and female expressions, Brissa Lugo said in an interview. “It was an everyday thing, but then he would have moments where he would just want to be comfortable because it’s a lot of work to be dressing up every day.”
News Timeline: 01/15/2024 | 03/10/2024
Brissa Lugo. (2024). Marcos Lugo – Family Funeral GoFundMe – Kitty Monroe. GoFundMe. https://www.gofundme.com/f/marcos-lugo
Gonzales, J. R. (2024, January 15). “Very protective, loving”: Family fears hit-and-run victim was targeted for being trans – Kitty Monroe. Arizona Republic. https://eu.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2024/01/15/family-fears-slain-phoenix-resident-was-targeted-for-being-transgender/72219926007/
Gonzalez, J. R. (2024, March 10). Phoenix family pleads for help bringing trans victim’s killer to justice: “Not fair” – Kitty Monroe. Arizona Republic. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/phoenix-family-pleads-for-help-bringing-trans-victims-killer-to-justice-not-fair/ar-BB1jDFnw
Tales from the Streets. (2023, April 5). Transgender man interview – Kitty Monroe. Youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLACCejhHUY&t=29s
Images are publicly available through public sources, personal posts, family members and information websites as well as stills from cited videos and news websites. Images are digitally enhanced for artistic purposes. All information is accurate to the best of the author’s knowledge at time of publishing. Updates will be made as needed.
