Brayla’s Murder

Brayla Stone was born on June 3rd, 2003, and grew up in North Little Rock, Arkansas. Brayla was outgoing and had a massive social media presence – particularly on Instagram. Brayla also enjoyed making music.

Brayla was a young, Black, trans teenager, who was only 17 years, old when her body was found on June 25th, 2020. According to an arrest affidavit, an 18-year-old man named Trevone Miller, quickly became a person of interest for Sherwood police once several witnesses came forward. Trevone, who was 18 at the time, was arrested a week after Brayla’s murder.

So, who was Trevone and what was his tie to Brayla? Trevone was seeing Brayla at the time, and he also had another girlfriend. After an altercation between Trevone and Brayla, she threatened to tell people about their relationship. This was the determining factor in Trevone’s decision to murder Brayla. Trevone feared that people would think he was “gay,” even though Brayla was a trans woman.

Trevone pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, reduced from capital murder, in exchange for a 50-year sentence - 40 years for first-degree murder, with an enhanced firearms penalty which added ten years to his term.

Trevone will not be eligible for parole until he’s served 35 years of his sentence, which includes the time he has already spent in custody. Trevone will be 53.

Remembering Brayla

The Center for Artistic Revolution wrote on a Facebook post about Brayla’s vigil, “Brayla was someone who always held space for others to be themselves and express their identities. Despite the fact that these institutions didn't support Brayla, it is important that we uplift her memory and dedicate ourselves to seeking justice for her. She was 17 years old and her life was taken far too soon. We must put a stop to the violence against Black trans women. We don't want another Black trans woman's death to go unnoticed.”

At the time of Brayla’s murder, Arkansas did not have any legislation against hate crimes. However, in April of 2021, Arkansas passed SB 622, a bill that, at best, is a cheap “alternative” to a hate crime bill. Essentially, all SB 622 does is delay the release of offenders, ALREADY INCARCERATED, until they have served at least 80% of their sentence if the offender purposely selects their victim. The problem is, this bill does not specify any protected characteristics and is intentionally vague. Since this is technically not a hate crime bill, Arkansas remains one of the last states to do this – including South Carolina and Wyoming.

We need to do better for Brayla. We need to do better for everyone within the LGBTQ+ community. Life is difficult enough as is, let’s all practice more understanding, and more kindness.

RIP Brayla