Instagram/@euphoric_intentions
Sign up for The Agenda, Them’s news and politics newsletter, delivered Thursdays.
Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of fatal violence against a transgender woman.
Eryka Caldwell, a 41-year-old transgender woman beloved by her community, was stabbed to death in her Bushwick, New York apartment on Sunday morning.
Police arrested her boyfriend, 38-year-old Jonathan Fernandez, at the scene and have since charged him with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Fernandez was scheduled to be arraigned on Monday night. Public records show his next court date is May 22, 2026 and that bail has been remanded, meaning that he cannot currently be released.
In her Instagram bio, where she identifies as a “Proud TS [transsexual] woman,” Caldwell described herself as a “lover of everything sappy & mushy.” She frequently posted images of her mother, her best friend, and meals she enjoyed, along with glowingly upbeat captions. She celebrated graduating from Bellevue University with a bachelor’s degree in a January 2023 post.
In December 2023, she posted a simple message: “To whoever I am important to, I love you.” That same month, in a Christmas post, she wrote a moving tribute to her late mother, writing “It is said that Angels choose their parents. Before earth we have a life that is full. I now, after she’s an angel herself, know what lessons I have learned [from her.]”
According to local news outlet News 12 Brooklyn, sources say police had previously responded to domestic disputes between Fernandez and Caldwell. The New York Police Department told local media outlets that Caldwell was stabbed multiple times and that her attacker fatally cut her throat. After police responded to the call, Caldwell was transported by emergency response services to One Brooklyn Health-Brookdale Hospital Medical Center where she died.
This is a developing story.
Get the best of what’s queer. Sign up for Them’s weekly newsletter here.
Originally Appeared on them.