The Tragic Life The Trans Man Who Inspired ‘Boys Don’t Cry’

Brandon Teena was born on December 12, 1972 and was given the name Teena Renae Brandon at birth. He grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and was raised by JoAnn Brandon, a single mother.

Since Brandon Teena's father had died in a vehicle accident before  birth, his mother battled immensely to provide for him and his sister.

Brandon Teena was frequently labeled a "tomboy" as a child. He preferred wearing conventionally masculine attire over usually feminine attire. Teena's actions mirrored those of the town's boys. Once he reached high school, he began dating girls. He was also utilizing masculine names, beginning with "Billy" and settling on "Brandon."

Brandon Teena struggled to concentrate at school despite his popularity with the girls, some of whom were unaware that he was transgender. Regularly skipping classes, he was expelled before he could graduate. During the same time period, he also struggled with his relationship with his mother, who disapproved of him exploring his gender identity.

Teena supported himself through odd jobs and criminal activities such as check forgery and credit card theft. 

Longing for a fresh start in a place where no one would know that he was trans, Brandon Teena decided to move to the Falls City region of Nebraska before his 21st birthday. But soon after he arrived, tragedy struck.

The Horrific Rape And Murder Of Brandon Teena

Brandon Teena, while visiting the Falls City region, arrived in the village of Humboldt and moved into the home of Lisa Lambert, a young single mother, and  started dating Lana Tisdel, a 19-year-old woman. Teena also befriended several locals, including John Lotter and Marvin Thomas Nissen

But everything began to unravel on December 19, 1993, the day Brandon Teena was arrested for check forgery.

When Tisdel arrived to fetch him up from jail, she was astonished to see him in the "female" section. He subsequently stated that he hoped to have sex reassignment surgery.

Tisdel was not the only one who knew about Teena's sexual identity. Details of his arrest, including the name his mother gave him, were published in a local newspaper. This meant that he was exposed, and all of his new contacts knew his assigned gender at birth.

When Lotter and Nissen heard the news, they were enraged. And on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1993, during a party, they questioned Teena violently about his identity. In addition to physically assaulting him, they also forced him to go naked in front of party guests, including Tisdel.

Later, Lotter and Nissen abducted Teena, forced him into a car, and raped him severely. In addition, he was threatened with death if he ever reported the incident. Nevertheless, Teena ultimately chose to contact the police.

Unfortunately, Sheriff Charles Laux of Richardson County refused to take Teena's account seriously. I

n fact, Laux seemed more concerned in Teena's transgender status, asking her questions such as "Do you sometimes run around with a sock in your trousers to seem like a boy?" and "Why do you hang out with girls instead of guys, given that you are a female?"

Even while Laux was asking Teena questions concerning the rape, the questions were frequently demeaning and dehumanizing, such as,“So then after he couldn’t stick it in your vagina he stuck it in your box or in your buttocks, is that right?” and “Did he play with your breasts or anything?”

Even though Laux tracked down Lotter and Nissen and questioned them about the attack, he did not arrest them, giving them ample time to plot the murder of Brandon Teena on December 31, 1993.

Lotter and Nissen broke into Lambert's residence, where Teena was still residing. Teena was then shot and stabbed to death. Lotter and Nissen also murdered Lambert and another of Lambert's houseguests, Phillip DeVine, who was dating Tisdel's sister.

The only person to survive the attack was Lambert's eight-month-old son, who was left crying in his crib.

Arrest and Sentencing

Nissen and Lotter were arrested later that same day and charged with murder. Though both were found guilty, Lotter received the death penalty and Nissen received life in prison — since he had agreed to testify against Lotter. (Nebraska later abolished the death penalty in 2015, meaning that Lotter was eventually sentenced to life in prison as well.)

Read the story of the 8-year-old boy who was tortured to death by her mother for being gay