TDoR 2021 / 2020 / November / 22 / Kimberly Susan Fial


Kimberly Susan Fial

Age 55

22 Nov 2020
San Jose, California (USA)
Stabbed

TDoR list ref: tgeu/22-Nov-2020/Kimberly Susan Fial

Kimberly Susan Fial
Kimberly Susan Fial [photo: www.facebook.com]

Kimberly was one of five people stabbed in an attack at a shelter where she volunteered. Two women - including Kimberly - died from their injuries.

Transgender woman Kimberly Fial, 55, was murdered on Nov. 22, in the Grace Baptist Church shelter where she volunteered. Wednesday the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office identified Kimberly Fial as the second fatality in the stabbing attack that injured three other shelter volunteers.

San Jose PD press release identified the suspect as Fernando Lopez. He was arrested on 11/22/2020 by SJPD patrol Officers near the scene of the incident and remains in custody without bail.

On November 22nd, 2020, at approximately 7:54 PM, Officers responded to the Grace Baptist Church on the 400 block of East San Fernando Street on a report of a stabbing. When they arrived, they located five victims suffering from at least one stab wound each. An adult male victim was declared deceased at the scene. A second adult female victim was transported to a local hospital where she succumbed to her injuries and was declared deceased.

Kimberly had started volunteering at the shelter after arriving as a guest.

Ms. Fial arrived at Grace Baptist Church as a shelter guest in the middle of the year, and almost as soon as she got there, she started pitching in to help staff however she could, said shelter manager Anthony Mastrocola. That included helping make and serve dinner, passing out coffee in the morning, and running the shelter’s shower arrangements.

“My heart always felt warm when I saw her when I got into the building,” Mastrocola said. “One, I’m thinking ‘OK I know everything’s under control.’ And two, she’s just a good person.”

They also said she loved bright colors, and could usually be seen in hot pink shoes and colorful leggings, sipping a soda — her favorites were Coke and Dr. Pepper. And her quiet temperament belied her ability to draw a laugh out of people around her.

“She had a twinkle in her eye. This little smile,” said Shaunn Cartwright, who uses the church as a base for her homeless outreach efforts. “It was kind of like, ‘What are you up to?”

Kimberly's Facebook profile is https://www.facebook.com/kimberly.fial.9.

https://planettransgender.com/trans-woman-killed-while-volunteering-at-a-baptist-homeless-shelter/

https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2020/12/trans-volunteer-killed-mass-stabbing-homeless-shelter/

https://www.hrc.org/news/hrc-mourns-kimberly-fial-white-transgender-woman-killed-in-california

https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2020/12/03/san-jose-church-stabbing-victim-warmly-remembered-but-suspects-arraignment-delayed-again/

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/12/03/san-jose-church-stabbing-victim-warmly-remembered-but-suspects-arraignment-delayed-again/

https://www.facebook.com/TransDeathInvestigations/posts/158557422665920

Report added: 6 Dec 2020. Last updated: 12 Nov 2021

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