I wanted to throw up when I read this. Her name was Victoria. She was a WOMAN. She went through hell to have her outside match her inside, and you completely rip that away from her by referring to her as a male, or by her birth name at the beginning of the article. To open it up with a quote from someone who knew her ten years ago rather than the quotes from her other friends is just plain mean. Shame on you.

I agree with Mak. You shamelessly disrespected her memory and her life by taking away the one thing she fought so hard for during her lifetime: Simply to be a woman like any other woman. And for what? A scandalous headline that will sell copy/page hits? Legally she was a woman. Physically she was a woman. And as you can tell from her contemporary friends, she was a woman in the eyes of everyone who knew her. If she could read this article, I know she would be crying. Congratulations on trashing the legacy of a very beautiful and vibrant woman who sadly died way too young.

Mak, my understanding is that Ms. White was a person who did not run from the truth. Ms. White was anatomically male for at least 18 years of her life. Many remember her from when her name was legally James. Hiding the facts does no one any justice, particularly Ms. White.

Becky,
As I responded in the comments to the other story:
We are just reporting facts. It is news when the Essex County Prosecutor's Office changes the name and gender identification for a homicide victim. The medical examiner's report is not private; it is public.
In addition, there are many rumors swirling about this homicide. We present the facts as we know them to counter rumors.
Finally, we hope to present a forum where Ms. White's friends can present the facts about what a wonderful person she was, instead of having her memory absorbed by the circumstances of her death.

Becky,
When the Essex County Prosecutor's Office releases information, they do so for a reason. And the reason simply may be to clarify identity. Many people were writing Patch (and other outlets, I'm sure, as well as local authorities) to ask if this victim was the James White who attended Columbia High School. We answered that question with all the facts.

Mary,
This story could have been written better. I am so disappointed. There is absolutely no reason to use male pronouns in this story. Nor is there any real reason to use her old name. Talk about disrespectful.

If I may, the story progressed in such a way that the name James White was initially reported to the media as the victim of a homicide. It was later revealed to the media that James had transitioned to Victoria. Patch was reporting the facts and information given by the Prosecutor’s office.

I knew Victoria when she introduced herself as James. I knew that she had transitioned. It was not a piece of the story on Patch.com until it was a piece of information given to the media by Prosecutor’s office.

While I am also concerned over respect and privacy; this was an official piece of information specifically released to the media about an ongoing investigation. I hope this clears that part up a bit.

As for using a male pronoun here, this memorial was being written before the name Victoria was released to the media. There are people in M/SO who remember Victoria as James, as she was physically when she lived here.

I am so sorry that this is causing so much hurt, this is already such a horrific situation, and we were trying to pay homage to a wonderful human being.

Thanks for at least honoring her by removing her birth name from the opening line. Its a start. 99% of the trans people that I know (and I know a LOT) hate what they looked like in their prior gender. Posting a 10 year old picture (from high school no less) is also another way of demeaning her. She wouldn't have gone through what she did to change her appearance if she liked the way she looked. Why disrespect her by showing it?

Sure there are people who remember her as her prior gender but if they were in her life now, they wouldn't refer to her that way. If they weren't in her life now, then why bring them up? Find people who knew here in the present, and not 10 years ago.

@Mary Man:

Your continued presumption that it's okay to out a trans woman without her consent. . . and after her death is beyond presumptuous. It's sickening, as others have said. Congratulations.

Saying that one can use someone's old name and pronouns because they happened to know that person before is not okay. It's irrelevant. Victoria was and is Victoria. Only she gets to decide what she is called, not you, not the prosecutors' office. And what's sickening is she is unable to decide that now, but you feel it's okay.

It doesn't matter what the Prosecutor's office did - they messed up too, or whatever the "rumors" might be." As a journalist, you have a public platform and it comes with a responsibility. This isn't just about "objective facts." If that were true, all you would need to do would be to scan the police report and print it.

sigh.

The both of you are being backward.

I am emailing from the UK and am absolutely shocked by this.

In the UK if some ones legal name, birth certificate and gender has been corrected following gender reassignment that's it. Whether past, present or in death. The prosecutor's office would be liable to prosecution in the UK for even disclosing her gender history at all and a fine imposed too. This was disgusting. The same with the press and her family and friends.

This is shameful and any one that knew her from years ago should also have the courtesy to respect her real name and pronouns, after all she was always a woman regardless of what her parents named her as a child. Mak and Julia's comments are spot on. There is also a code of practice, certainly for the UK media (although this is not always adhered too). To respect her at all, starts with respecting who she always was on the inside and later on the 'outside' i.e. a young woman. By the sounds of it a very kind woman who did not deserve what happened to her or this distrustful 'tribute'. Don't even try and justify it.

I would suggest pulling any messages that don't respect her gender. The one thing in death she would be very upset about no doubt, if she could read some of these comments, and the disgraceful prosecutor's cock up and media follow up misreporting, was the one thing most precious to her - her womanhood. It is disgusting and completely disrespecting of her memory so please stop it.

IM OVER the lack of humanity...you have taken an unsolved MURDER and made the focus
on her gender which was not some where in the middle.She wasnt a gay boy playing dress up. She became a beautiful woman...Most genetic woman could not come close to the beauty she created...Im her photographer ive shot her many times and each time a woman was sitting before me. Now get off the gender and do your job and report the news not the gossip. Shame on you.
View more at jamesmithimage.com All the women on site minus a few are Transgendered and some of the most striking beauties on the planet.

Further more...by setting up this gender issue when middle america reads between the lines...
they think..oh she was one of those....no wonder she got shot....and the entire issues as so many before get swept under the rug so the heterosexual machine can keep pumping BULLSHIT..

Family values my ass...

First let me pay my condolences to Victoria White. Sad to hear something like this happens ever, and in my town I grew up in makes it even more disheartening. I went to Middle school and High School with James White. After graduation, not too many people heard anything from her. I read the Article that first stated James White. I thought to my self, I knew a James White but with such a common name I didnt want to even believe it was the person I knew. But once they reported the f acts about the James White I knew was now Victoria, I was able to notify friends and we were able to send our Coldolences. With out the facts being stated friends Victoria knew would not be able to say there last goodbyes to her at the wake or Funeral services.

I think this is a healthy dialogue about how to talk about gender and people's different identities over time. As someone who knew Carmen in HS, I am only now finding out she was able to live 10 years as the female she was meant and proud to be. Despite this tragedy, I give thanks that she did have that time to express her true self, and I'm glad she had a community of people who loved her for who she was. May her memory be for a blessing.

Victoria was a beautiful person inside and out. I was a sister to her and she was like a sister to me. For the time that she lived in Mcallen, Texas she was like my other half. When i was informed of her sudden departure for the lives of the one's who loved her, I couldn't cry there were too many other friends who needed me to be there for them as they mourned for her. It wasn't until yesterday and today the day of and after her funeral that it hit me, "My wonderful, loving, caring, beautiful "crazy" :) friend will never pick up the phone and call me. My Vicki will never call me and tell me that she is on her way and I need to pick her up from the airport. There has been alot of talk about who she was before and who she was after, SHE was and always will be Victoria a kindered, radiant soul that was stolen from our lives and I am going to miss my sister everyday. R.I.P Victoria Carmen "DANGER" White I love you girl!

For those of you all in a fuss about reporting her original name before the legal change, shame on you. Shame on all of you. I knew James in high school. And his name was James. I don't care what anyone says. I didn't know him very well, but the times we did interact during 4 years of Special Dance, he was a very energetic and passionate person. He was always laughing and making others laugh. I never knew one person that had a bad thing to say.

That being said, of all the combined 40,000 or so residents of Maplewood and South Orange, how many people do you think knew she became a woman after high school? To have an article about friends or classmates remembering a former classmate, and not to include the given name-- is just stupid.

I thought I'd be able to scroll through the comments, and read other peoples thoughts, memories, and funny stories-- but I see it's become a sad, sad display of people picking on one another over useless trivial BS. You've managed to turn something nice into an argument about journalistic integrity or morality, when no disrespect was intended. You've picked the wrong battle, maybe you should put some effort into protesting corporate broadcasting/media outlets and leave the community ones alone. All of you claiming that She didn't like who she was back then and to "mention it" is wrong, even after death-- well, you're just doing the same thing. Nice job. Get over yourselves.

For all those who loved Victoria. For all those that claim to be her friend. Please start daily calling on your prosecutor to find who murdered her. It's not enough to claim to be her friend on the web and let her murderer go free. If you honor her, if you called her friend, then action is what she needs today. Your silence creates her death a thousand times. Pickup the phone today - don't let her die in vain.

Ms. Mann sure does have alot of time on her hands to be goin back and forth with folks who are obviously upset about this unfortunate occurence. I found it odd, that the article kept referring in one way or another to the sex of the victim, if the person had the surgery to become a female and the coroner as well as the birth certificate listed the person as a female, then that person is legally a female, so why keep making reference in any way. Those who knew the victim as James or Victoria, don't need any reminding, seeing as how if they are truly grieving the person, sex doesn't matter. Ms. mann, stop insulting these folk's intelligence and go get a stylist, no disrespect intended but the collar on that shirt is a little to large for this day and time.

Victoria was my cousin. I never cared about her gender. I just loved the person inside I never judged her. All I knew is that she was family and that was enough for me. I loved her for who she was and she will be missed. I must say she was beautiful inside and outside. May she rest in peace.