Serial Killers

Because of the stigma, marginalization, and criminalization of the sex work industry, serial killers often target sex workers, knowing that they will likely be able to get away with killing people who are not valued by society or law enforcement.

Juan David Ortiz, a Border Patrol Agent, was apprehended after a woman in his captivity escaped and linked him to the four murders of sex workers working by the border of U.S. and Mexico. All four murders were committed in a short two-week span and in a similar way. Had his last potential victim not escaped, it is not clear how long it would have taken until he was caught.

Gary Leon Ridgway aka Green River Killer was convicted of murdering 49 sex workers but admitted to 80 murders although the bodies were never found. He stated that killing prostitutes was best because no one would know they were gone and they were easy to pick up.

The Giglo Beach killer targeted sex workers in Long Island in 2013.

Peter Sutcliff, the Yorkshire Killer, killed  13 women in England, some of them sex workers.

Steve Wright killed five sex workers in Ipswitch, England.

Robert Hanson killed 17 sex workers in Anchorage, Alaska. Again, he discovered that strippers and full service providers were less likely to be missed by the people around them and, as a result, reduced his chances of getting caught.

Joel Rifkin killed 17 sex workers in the New York area.

Robert William Pickton killed 49 women, most of them sex workers, in Canada.

Jack the Ripper was famous for killing full service providers in the late 1800s in Whitechapel, a low-income area of London. He was never caught, but the horrific and gruesome murders mysteriously stopped in 1888.

Deborah Jeane Palfrey

Deborah Jeane Palfrey

Famously dubbed “The DC Madam” by media, Palfrey ran an escort agency in Washington, DC. Unable to convict on trafficking charges, prosecutors convicted her on racketeering and money laundering charges. After she was sentenced to 5 to 6 years in prison, she was found hanged along with her black book of clients and messages to her family. It was ruled a suicide, although she did not seem suicidal according to her mother. She catered to DC’s elite, including several senators.

The New York Times, May 2, 2008

Donna Castleberry Dalton

Donna Castleberry Dalton

Donna Castleberry Dalton was killed by an undercover vice police officer in Columbus, Ohio. She was in a car with the undercover officer after an alleged altercation, and the police officer shot her three times (some sources say eight, but the coroner’s report lists three). It is unknown whether Dalton knew that she was in the car with a police officer but it seemed as if she was trapped in the backseat of the car with him and likely feared for her life. Mitchell, the police officer in question, was already under investigation for criminal activity on his numerous rental properties.

Splinter News online, August 27, 2018

Dora Özer

April 24, 1986 – July 11, 2013

Dora Özer

Dora Özer, a 24-year-old Turkish trans woman, was murdered in her home July 9, 2013. Because the Turkish system legalizes full service work only for registered workers in legal brothels, Dora was not protected from violent clients. Anyone unregistered is only able to work in dangerous circumstances and is distanced from healthcare and law protection services.

Press release from Global Network of Sex Work Projects, July 10, 2013

Laverne Cox

Laverne Cox
Photo Credit: Yahoo! Lifestyle

Laverne Cox is an American actress, a documentary filmmaker, and a tireless activist and advocate for the LGBTQI and TGNC communities. A career performer, Cox rose to prominence for her role as Sophia Bursett in Netflix’s award-winning series “Orange Is the New Black.” She became the first openly transgender individual to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy in any category.

Cox has been vocal about her struggle working in performing arts, first as a gender-nonconforming individual, and then as a trans woman. She faced a lot of shame, and she mostly auditioned for and was cast for trans roles. Often discouraged by discrimination, Cox has been continually inspired by Candis Cayne’s character on “Dirty Sexy Money” and kept pursuing her dream against all the odds (see https://lavernecox.com/about/).

Cox continues to make historic strides in her career and inspire through her activism. She is an empowering advocate, a leading voice in the anti-violence movement. She supports gender-nonconforming individuals in moving beyond binary expectations to live more authentically as individuals. Cox was one of Glamour magazine’s 2014 Women of the Year, one of The Grio’s 100 Most Influential African Americans, and one of the Top 50 Trans Icons by The Huffington Post. She received the Courage Award from the Anti-Violence Project and the Reader’s Choice Award from Out magazine, among other accolades.

Yang Song

Yang Song

Highlighting the grave consequences of NYPD’s vice squad’s work to dismantle the unregulated sex industry in New York, this article paints a poignant picture of Yang’s life and tragic death post-raid.

It is prudent to point out that the author mentions James O’Neill, the New York City police commissioner, who revealed in early 2017 that Vice shifted its work to target the pimps and the johns instead of the service providers themselves. While this seems harm reductive, this decreases safety and increases violence against the providers. If johns are criminalized, anyone seeking pay-for-play sex will be more likely to want to break the law and push boundaries. The answer is the full decriminalization of sex work to protect the lives of all operating within unregulated economies.

Margaret Cho

Margaret Cho
Photo Credit: Pixie Vision Photography

Margaret Cho is a comedian, actress, writer, producer, singer/songwriter, and passionate advocate for anti-racism, anti-bullying, and pro-LGBTQAI+ rights and visibility. She has also been public about her experiences in the sex industry. She has a varied and extensive collection of projects, accolades, and side projects. She is also the executive producer of “Mercy Mistress,” a web series that delves into the world of BDSM, kink, and sex workers.

Petite Jasmine

April 24, 1986 – July 11, 2013

Petite-Jasmine

Petite Jasmine (legally known as Eva-Maree) was a Swedish sex worker, activist, and outspoken critic of the Nordic model. She had known that her ex-boyfriend was violent and stalking her. When she went to the authorities to report this worrying behavior in an attempt to de-escalate the situation, the police dismissed her because she was a sex worker. In the years leading up to her murder, her ex, already sanctioned for his violent behavior, got full custody of their children because of her sex worker status. The European sex worker and activist community held protests and memorials for Petite Jasmine and another sex worker murdered in Turkey, Dora Özer.

Tits and Sass, July 16, 2013
The Local, Sweden, July 17, 2013

Janet Mock

“I believe that telling our stories, first to ourselves and then to one another and the world, is a revolutionary act. It is an act that can be met with hostility, exclusion, and violence. It can also lead to love, understanding, transcendence, and community. I hope that my being real with you will help empower you to step into who you are and encourage you to share yourself with those around you.”  ― Janet Mock, Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More

Janet Mock
Photo credit: Dia Dipasupil, Getty Images. Copyright: 2018 Getty Image

Honolulu native Janet Mock is a fearless advocate for transgender visibility and rights. Not only a successful editor and author, she has appeared on many talk shows to advocate for her experience and the experiences of others. In terms of her heroism for sex workers, especially trans sex workers, she worked in the sex industry in order to fund her transition and has since gone on to write a book about her experience entitled Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love, and So Much More. She is a beacon of intelligence, confidence, and a symbol of transcending stigma to fully express herself.