Loni Kai Okaruru (5 of Hearts, Oregon)

Our card this week is Loni Kai Okaruru, the 5 of Hearts from Oregon.

Loni Kai Okaruru made several stops on the morning of August 26, 2001, and interacted with several people, before she was beaten to death, her body left on a farm in Washington County, Oregon. Loni Kai’s murder was quickly labeled by police as a hate crime, but decades later her killer is still unknown. 

Note: An earlier version of this episode touched on gender fluidity in Filipino culture. As we cannot independently verify this information, we have removed this statement.

• If you know anything about the murder of Loni Kai Okaruru in August 2001 in northwest Oregon, please call the Washington County Sheriff’s Investigations Division at 503-846-2500, and ask for Detective Shannon Wilde.
• To learn more about Basic Rights Oregon, please visit their website by clicking here.
• audiochuck is proud to support the Trans Journalists Association, an organization whose mission is to promote accurate, nuanced coverage of trans issues and communities in the media. To explore resources, learn more about their work, and join us in supporting them, please visit https://www.transjournalists.org/
   

Thank you to author and activist Raquel Willis, who helped us by reviewing and editing this episode. Visit her website to learn more about her work!

View source material and photos for this episode at: thedeckpodcast.com/loni-kai-okaruru

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