Transgender woman’s car vandalized, police investigating

ALBURNETT - The graffiti has been removed from her front door and covered on her car, but the emotional wounds are still fresh for Alyssa Eve.

'I'm still kind of sad,” said Eve, 23. 'I didn't think that anyone could hate me that much.”

On Friday night, Eve - a lifelong resident of the small, Linn County community - was the victim of vandalism, according to her and the Linn County Sheriff's Office. It appears she was targeted because of her gender. Eve is a transgender woman who transitioned from male to female six years ago.

The incident began around 11:30 p.m. Friday. Eve said she was in her apartment when she heard banging on her windows. She quickly called her mother, let out her Labrador retriever and went to investigate.

'The first thing I saw was, ‘Kill yourself' on my door,” Eve said.

Then Eve saw hate speech had been painted all across her white, Mercury Sable; words like 'pedophile” and 'tranny.”

Linn County Sheriff Brian Gardner said his deputies responded to the vandalism. Unfortunately, the vandals left behind few clues as to their identities.

'Other than the photographs (of the damage), we don't have any other evidence, so it's hard for us to follow up on this,” Gardner said, adding investigators were unable to find fingerprints and there are no nearby surveillance cameras.

Gardner said the comments spray painted on Eve's car are at least derogatory and could rise to the level of a hate crime.

'We'd need to find a suspect first to see what his or her intentions were,” he said. 'A comment that's been sprayed across the vehicle is concerning … one in particular could imply it's a hate crime. Right now, unfortunately, although it's an active case, there's really no follow up we can do at this time unless someone comes forward with new clues for us.”

Eve said she's hopeful the vandals talk about the crime to someone who ultimately reports it. Until then, she's trying to move on with her life. Friends came over on Monday and helped paint her car a shade of hot pink. A gofundme page has been set up to help Eve pay for car repairs. As of Monday afternoon, more than 120 people had donated $3,560, surpassing a $3,500 goal.

'The support I've received from my community is amazing,” Eve said.

Eve said, if given the chance, she'd tell the people who targeted her, 'I don't hate them.”

l Comments: (319) 398-8238; lee.hermiston@thegazette.com