t/w transphobia, hate crimes, rape, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts
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a photo of Juniper, taken by photographer Eleanor Li, two months before her death June 20th, 1990 - November 16th, 2018
SOLVED
Juniper Avery Rose Kipper was an American model and transgender activist.
Juniper was born male to a very religious family in Athens, Georgia, sixth of ten children. From a young age, Juniper always felt like a girl and the feeling intensified as she got older. She opened up to her parents about it when she was around eleven, but her parents refused to listen, dug their heels in, told her she was a boy, plain and simple. A year later, she would attempt suicide. She began opening up to her parents to her parents more afterwards, insisting to be called Juniper.
Shortly after turning thirteen, she would be kicked out simply for being transgender. She went to her friend's, Lindy Vasquez's, house, asking to be taken in. The Vasquez family was happy to take her in. They legally adopted her, called her Juniper and allowed her to transition. She'd get bottom surgery just a month after turning eighteen.
"Before they took me in, I was severely depressed. Even after my suicide attempt, I continued to struggle with those thoughts," Juniper said in a 2016 interview. "Multiple times before they took me in, I debated suicide. A few times, I had pills in my hand, ready to overdose, I had a bathtub filled, ready to drown myself, I had a knife to my wrists, ready to slice. After I began transitioning, while I still dealt with those thoughts, they were nowhere near as intense. I felt genuinely happy for the first time in years."
In her later teens, Juniper began working as model. Naturally, she started out slow, but after appearing on the cover of Lavanda's at nineteen, she was launched much further into fame. At twenty, she'd begin dating Brandon Joseph and at twenty-four, she'd marry him. A year later, they'd adopt a baby girl named Luna Willow Kipper-Joseph.
For years, Juniper would thrive as a model, she'd have a happy family life. She would often speak out on trans issues, being very open about being transgender and the struggles she had faced growing up. On the night of November 16th, 2018, Juniper said to Brandon that she was just running down to the store, to get just a few quick groceries. Brandon would fall asleep before she got back.
The next morning, he woke up. Juniper wasn't in bed next to him. Okay, she was probably downstairs or in the bathroom or something, no biggie. No. Juniper was nowhere to be found. Brandon called the police and reported her missing. Twelve hours later, Juniper's body was found in an alleyway, a bullet to the back of her head.
In her autopsy, it revealed she had also been raped.
Not even a full week after Juniper's death, a man by the name Ryan Handy confessed to her murder. He admitted to raping her, he admitted to killing her. He described in detail what he did to her, how Juniper was screaming and crying the entire time, begging to be let go. He called her the t-slur multiple times. He admitted he killed her simply because she was transgender. As such, Ryan was incarcerated and is on death row, currently awaiting execution.
Even in death, Juniper continues to be a beacon for the transgender community, her death being used as an example for just what trans people fear on a daily basis.
