Killing of Nina Pop

Part ofviolence against LGBT people in the United States
Map of Sikeston
Date	May 3, 2020
Location	South New Madrid Street,Sikeston, Missouri
Type	Murder bystabbing,hate crime
Deaths	Nina Pop
Convicted	Joseph Cannon
Charges	Second-degree murder and armed criminal action
Convictions	Voluntary manslaughter

In May 2020,Nina Pop, a young transgender woman of color, was stabbed to death in her Missouri apartment.^[1][2][3]

TheHuman Rights Campaign stated that Pop's death was at least the 10th violent death of an Americantransgender person orgender non-conforming person in 2020.^[4]

Pop was a black transgender woman.^[5] She lived 145 miles south ofSt. Louis inSikeston, Missouri, a small town of 16,000 people.^[6]

On May 3, 2020, a 28-year-old black transgender woman named Nina Pop was found dead with multiple stab wounds after being stabbed with a knife inside her own apartment on South New Madrid Street inSikeston, Missouri.^{[5][7][3][8][9]}

On May 15, 2020 inDexter, Missouri, Joseph B. Cannon fromPoplar Bluff, Missouri, was accused of Pop's murder and arrested forsecond-degree murder and armed criminal action.^[10] He pleadednot guilty, requested apublic defender, and awaits trial.^[11][12] Eleven crime labs, anti-violence organizations, and police departments contributed to the investigation.^[13] Pop's death was being investigated as a potential hate crime.^[9][14]

In October 2025, Cannon was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to 14 years in prison.^[15]

Sikeston Department of Public Safety and a local TV network initially misgendered Pop during their investigation and reporting, respectively.^[16][17]

The Okra Project, a grassroots organization initially focused on addressing food insecurity in the black transgender community, dedicated $15,000 to form the Nina Pop Mental Health Recovery Fund and theTony McDade Mental Health Recovery Fund in to raise money for free one-time mental health therapy sessions for black transgender individuals.^[18][19][20]

On June 2, 2020, thousands of people came together for a vigil and protest at theStonewall Inn inNew York City to honor the lives of Nina Pop and Tony McDade and protest police violence andtransphobic violence against theblack transgender community.^{[21][22][23][24]}

• 2020 controversies in the United States
• Black Lives Matter
• Violence against trans women
• Deaths by person in Missouri
• 2020 deaths
• Deaths by stabbing in Missouri
• May 2020 crimes in the United States
• May 2020 in the United States
• 2020 in Missouri
• Violence against LGBTQ people in the United States
• Violence against women in Missouri
• Murdered African-American people
• Transgender female murder victims

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