Ethermac Exchange-Phoenix family fears hit-and-run victim was targeted for being transgender

Since a fatal hit-and-run killed Marcos Lugo in southern Phoenix on Ethermac ExchangeNew Year's Day, his family has been left wondering whether someone had targeted their loved one for being transgender.

Lugo, 43, used the alias Kitty Monroe and regularly sported women’s clothing complemented by colorful makeup and wigs with long tresses. Siblings said Lugo used he/him/his pronouns. 

"He was always (the) main character," said Lugo’s sister, Brissa Lugo, 30, in an interview with The Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network, while describing Marcos’ bold fashion choices. "He was very protective, loving − and he would do the most just to make you feel comfortable."

Police investigate hit-and-run

Witnesses who came forward have said he was attacked about 2 a.m. Jan. 1 by a man and woman in the parking lot of Casa de Licores, a liquor drive-thru in southern Phoenix, the family said. 

Phoenix police spokesman Sgt. Philip Krynsky told The Republic the initial investigation indicated Marcos Lugo's case was being handled as a fatal hit-and-run. Krynsky said he could not share some details of the case out of concern it could hinder the department's investigation.

The family said a witness told her a man and woman were chasing Lugo, and the man slugged 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. The family was told another driver then accidentally hit Lugo.

"I wouldn’t doubt that it would be a possibility," Brissa said as to whether her sibling was killed for being transgender. 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.

Lugo previously attacked for being trans

Brissa said Lugo often would face taunts and glares from strangers whenever he was presenting as a woman in public.

"People were mean to him," she said

In a video posted on April 5 on the YouTube channel Tales from the Streets, Lugo detailed the violence he encountered as a transgender person. He was attacked in Los Angeles and then again nearly a year later in Phoenix, leaving his jaw broken both times, he said in the video.    

He went on to say in the video interview that he did not dwell on what gender pronouns people used on him. However, he expressed frustration at store clerks who addressed him as "sir" when he was presenting as a woman, explaining the misgendering was done to shame him. 

"I’m not afraid to exist, but I’m afraid of what other people would see," Lugo said in the video. "I’m afraid of what their perception of me is."

Last year, at least 31 transgender and gender non-conforming people were killed in acts of violence, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the country’s largest advocacy group for LGBTQ+ rights. The majority of the victims were people of color.

The eldest sibling looked out for others

Lugo, the oldest of seven children, spent a number of years living on the streets, but home often would come calling for him, Brissa said. He had returned to help care for his 60-year-old mother, who had a minor stroke last year and has shown early signs of dementia. Brissa said Marcos was a loving child who would cook for their mother, bathe her and occasionally do her hair and makeup.

It was a cold New Year's Eve night in the hours before Lugo was killed. Always supportive of his fashion choices, his mother had loaned him a black fur coat Brissa had gifted her for Christmas.

Brissa said their mother was devastated in thinking that he may have been run over a second time because the coat concealed him in the dark early morning hours, with the air already clouded by smoke from fireworks in the area.

Lugo's siblings were raising money on GoFundMe to bury him. As of Wednesday morning, a little less than $3,700 of the $10,000 goal had been collected.

He left them with the paintings he did and memories of his singing and his sense of humor.

His extroverted personality stemmed from a desire to brighten other people’s lives, Lugo said in the YouTube video.

"I try to put out positive, happy energy that charges other people up, that makes them feel good about themselves. Like, everyone should feel good about themselves."

Contributing: Christopher Cann, USA TODAY