One week after she was abducted, a 19-year-old Florida Black Lives Matter protester was found dead.
Tallahassee police found the remains of Oluwatoyin “Toyin” Salau, along with 75-year-old Victoria Sims, on Saturday. They’re treating both their cases as homicides. The police department of Tallahassee said that a suspect, Aaron Glee, 49, was arrested by officers.
The last time Salau was seen was June 6. She ‘d tweeted earlier that day that she had been sexually assaulted. Her friend Chynna Carney confirmed it was Salau’s Twitter account.
The tweets said Salau left some things in a church where she was looking for sanctuary and a man who had given her a lift to retrieve her objects later molested her when she was attempting to sleep.
It’s still uncertain whether Glee is the same guy who molested Salau that day. CNN has reached out to Tallahassee Police to validate Salau’s sexual harassment claim and is awaiting hearing back.
“She had so many hopes, she never gave up,” said Carney. But she too has endured a huge deal of pain; Carney described her as a sad girl with the “happiest soul”.
And she has always been a big advocate of the Movement for Black Lives Matter.
“When she started protesting with us, that was the happiest I’ve ever seen her,” Carney said.
Salau ‘s video speaking at a rally in memory of Tony McDade, a trans-man who was killed last month by Tallahassee police, has spread quickly right after her death. She said in the clip that he doesn’t want to split people but unites them against police brutality committed toward black Americans.
Carney said the death of her best friend inspired her to advocate for black women just like Toyin did. “I will never stop protesting,” Carney said. “I will fight for her and for black people and people of color ’til I’m dead.”
Reference: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/15/us/toyin-salau-black-lives-matter-found-dead-trnd/index.html
