To hear her family tell it, there was nothing Persia Amarra Conway couldn’t do.
She was funny, big-hearted. She touched everyone she met, whether she was in Houston, Miami or Los Angeles. Her mother, Michelle Simmons, said she was an enterprising, ambitious woman, a “straight-up” entrepreneur. As a child, Simmons recalled, Persia had big dreams.
“‘I’m gonna make waves in the world,'” Simmons remembered her daughter saying. “Little did I know that my baby would be making this type of wave.”
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And she was loved so deeply by her friends and family. That made it impossible to understand the circumstances around Persia’s death: being found, abandoned and naked, near Brays Bayou in Southwest Houston.
“She was a wonderful woman and she did not deserve this in any way, shape or form,” Persia’s aunt, Natalie McDonald, said through tears. “Her entire life was dedicated to being seen, and to be left outside with no dignity is heartbreaking.”
“She wasn’t just someone that you discard,” Simmons said. “So don’t dehumanize, don’t belittle. And don’t take that her life was not meant for something.”
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Community members, LGBTQ+ advocates and elected officials joined Persia’s family for a candlelight vigil and press conference at the Montrose Center in Houston on Tuesday. The vigil, held just two days into LGBTQ+ Pride Month, celebrated Persia’s life. But it was filled with anger and demands for action, for both Persia and the transgender community, from her family and community leaders. Persia is the second transgender woman to be found dead in Houston this year, and at least the sixth in the past several years.
“Persia deserves justice. I want justice for my baby girl,” Simmons said at a news conference before the vigil. “No transgender person should have to wonder whether their life will be treated as less important because of who they are.”
“I am not going away.”
Tuesday’s vigil came as family members and the public still have few answers about how Persia died.
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Houston Police have said the investigation into Persia’s death remains ongoing and that detectives are waiting for the results of an autopsy. According to the Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office, which deadnamed Persia in an email to Chron, the autopsy report is still pending. No suspects or arrests have been announced. Persia’s mother called for more “transparency, communication and accountability” from HPD on Tuesday.
Michelle Simmons (R), the mother of Persia Amarra Conway, consoles her sister, Natalie McDonald (L) as they speak to media about Conway’s death on Tuesday, June 2 2026
Gwen Howerton/Chron.com
“I am not going away,” Simmons said. “My family is not going away. I will be a nightmare to the city of Houston. My family deserves answers, just like anyone else.
Persia’s family said they had been shown disrespect during the initial investigation. Simmons said she felt like “trash” during a meeting with HPD. McDonald recalled meeting with a detective in the case.
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“To sit in a room with the person who is supposed to be responsible for figuring out who did this to my niece, and his indifference took up the entire room, was so disheartening,” McDonald said through tears during a press conference with family members. “Justice is gonna come to us through her.”
“Our lives are not expendable.”
Mourners hold candles at a vigil for Persia Amarra Conway, a transgender woman who was found dead in Southwest Houston, at the Montrose Center in Houston on Tuesday, June 2 2026.
Gwen Howerton/Chron.com
While Houston police have yet to announce if they believe Persia was the victim of an anti-transgender hate crime, her death comes amid an uptick in violence against transgender people. Emmett Schelling, the Executive Director for the Transgender Education Network of Texas, noted that while violent attacks impact the entire LGBTQ+ community, trans people are disproportionately affected.
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“Trans people, unfortunately, even though in statistics the population are not as big, are the primary targets of violence,” Schelling said.
In Houston alone, Persia’s is the second violent death of a trans woman this year. In January, Jade Roberts, a Black transgender woman, was found shot to death in an abandoned building in West Houston. Houston Police have asked for tips on Roberts’ murder, and that investigation is also ongoing. Persia’s body was found not far from where Diamond Brigman, another Black trans woman, was shot and killed in 2024. That follows high-profile murders of trans women in the city in 2022 and 2020. Tavon Williams, a longtime community activist and Black trans man, was overcome with grief as he spoke.
“Our lives are not expendable. We are human just like you,” Williams said. “I should be home right now with my kids. We all should be home right now.”
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And amid the anger, Persia’s family implored the public not to forget that Persia was more than a statistic or a news story. She was beloved, and she was somebody.
“What I will carry in my heart until the day that I die is that my daughter was true to herself,” Simmons said. “She wasn’t faking it, she wasn’t making it up.”