Transgender woman murdered on Milwaukee's north side

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A local family is pleading for help to find their loved one's killer. A 28-year-old transgender woman murdered in the middle of the night. One week later and still no answers. 

It's a hard pill to swallow for Bernita Gildart. Gildart's daughter, Brazil Johnson, was killed last Wednesday, June 15. Pictures and memories are all she has left.

"Worst nightmare came true that something like this would happen," Gildart said. 

Johnson was shot multiple times near Teutonia Avenue and Garfield Avenue. 

"For someone to do that so many times, that's just hateful, so I'm looking at it like that's just total hate. Why would you do something like that to her, what did she do so wrong for her to deserve that kind of death?"  

Johnson was more than just another homicide statistic. She worked as a chef. The kitchen was her safe haven. 

"Bake, chef it up, loved to get in the kitchen," Gildart said. 

Elle Halo is an LGBTQ activist. She says it's a heartbreaking trend, more and more Black trans women are killed every year.

"Facing our mortality and thinking about our safety is something we as trans folks have to do just every day," Halo said. 

She is also standing behind the Gildart family, wanting the community to take crimes like this seriously.

"It's something we should have be concerned about and be aware of," Halo said. 

As for Gildart, she prays her daughter's killer is caught. 

"I want him to pay for what he's done. He doesn't deserve to walk these streets." 

Milwaukee police have not identified any suspects or a motive.