Friends remember dance coach gunned down in Wilkinsburg on New Year's Day

Friends of Amariey Lei said she exuded positivity, making sure those around her were happy and knew they were loved.

“She was a blessing, to our team and to our lives,” said Jazmaine Wade, a coach for the Lady Diamonds hip hop and majorette dance team, of which Lei was a member and later a coach.

Lei, known as Coach Chawn to the Lady Diamonds, was found shot to death in the 1300 block of Wilkinsburg’s Wood Street early Saturday, just a few hours in the new year. She was 19.

Allegheny County homicide detectives are investigating. No information has been released about possible suspects.

“She taught me how to be myself, to have confidence in myself when it comes to bullying and stuff. She was just the best person. It’s just so sad,” said Montrey Givner, a member of the Lady Diamonds.

Wade said Lei spent the past year coming into her own and owning her transition as a transgender woman. LGBTQ advocacy groups have rallied around Lei’s family in the days since her death in what the groups said appears to be the nation’s first killing of a trans person in 2022.

“The fact that (this year’s) first murder of a trans person in the United States took place in our city should not be overlooked,” the Black- and trans-led nonprofit SisTers PGH said in a statement. “It is up to every one of us to fight like hell to make sure she is the last.”

The Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign called Lei’s death “at least the first” killing of a transgender to gender-noncomforming person this year.

“We say ‘at least’ because too often these deaths go unreported or misreported,” Human Rights Campaign leaders said in a statement.

London Parris, another Lady Diamonds coach, described Lei as loving and caring.

“She always called and checked in on us. We’d get random FaceTimes (and) she would always tell us in our group message we have that she loves us,” Parris said. “Who would want to take that away?”

Friends said Lei served as a mentor and surrogate older sibling for many, and she playing an integral role in developing many of the team’s most successful routines.

“She would literally walk in the room and just light it up,” friend Ty Carpenter said. “She always had a smile that would brighten your day. She never meant no harm. She was just all around a good person.”

On a GoFundMe page set up to help offset funeral costs, Lei’s cousin, Erin Perry, called her a “vibrant soul with a presence that filled every space she entered.”

“She was a trans youth who was taken from her family and friends far too soon, leaving many unanswered questions and indescribable heartache,” Perry said.

Anyone with information about Lei’s killing is asked to call the Allegheny County Police tip line at 1-833-ALL-TIPS (1-833-255-8477) or via the department’s social media channels. Callers can remain anonymous.