Davonta Curtis, 31, Murdered by on-again/off-again BF in Chicago Apartment
****TRIGGER WARNING
(04.14.26) - Blaque/OUT Magazine first began following the story of Davonta Curtis, 31, on April 9th. Due to widespread misgendering by both police and media outlets, her identity confirmation was delayed until this afternoon, when local Chicago news outlet WGN verified that Davonta was a Black woman of transgender experience.
On April 8th, Davonta’s sister discovered her badly beaten body inside her West Side Chicago apartment after being unable to reach her since Easter Sunday. That day, Davonta had visited her sister with her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Deandre Bell, 24, when they brought groceries and gifts for the holiday.
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office, Davonta died from blunt force trauma. Her injuries were so severe that responding officers initially believed she had been shot. Surveillance footage reportedly shows the couple returning to her apartment on Easter; later, Davonta re-entered alone, and around 1 a.m., Bell was seen leaving by himself.
Authorities later apprehended Bell while he was driving Davonta’s car. Court documents reveal that after being taken into custody, Bell confessed to killing Davonta and stealing her keys, phone, and money. Investigators recovered a toolbelt from Bell’s belongings containing a hammer with blood on the claw. His phone also contained disturbing internet searches, including “how to kill someone with a hammer” and “if a person gets hit in the head with a hammer while sleeping, what happens.”
Deandre Bell remains in custody following his court appearance and is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a stolen vehicle in connection with Davonta Curtis’ murder.
Blaque/OUT Magazine mourns the loss of Davonta Curtis and continues to call attention to the epidemic of violence against Black Trans people to hate crimes by strangers and possibly even more disturbing, through intimate partner violence at the hands of someone that was supposed to love them.