Toxic mix cited in activist’s death
Anxiety drugs, heroin among substances that killed Loyd, 44
Nikki Araguz Loyd, a Houston activist known for her commitment to transgender rights in Texas, died in November from a mixture of substances that include heroin, ethanol and medication designed to treat anxiety and panic disorders, according to the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
Araguz Loyd, 44, died Nov. 6 at her home in Humble. She is survived by her husband, William Loyd, and their two children. She most notably fought a highprofile court battle over the legitimacy of her marriage to a Wharton County firefighter who was killed in a 2010 blaze. She also courted reality TV and worked as an entrepreneur in Houston.
In addition to ethanol and heroin, her cause of death lists clonazepam and alprazolam, which both treat anxiety and panic disorders, among the substances that contributed to her death. The death was ruled an accident. Officials with the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences declined to say when the cause of death was determined. William Loyd could not be reached for comment.
Araguz Loyd first gained widespread notoriety in the 1990s when she appeared on TV talk shows to discuss transgender issues, including when she was raped at 13 and infected with HIV. She said she developed as a woman, both physically and emotionally, despite being born a boy.
In 2008, she married a Wharton County firefighter and underwent genital reassignment surgery. Two years later, her husband died battling a fire at an egg farm in Wharton, a town of 9,000 about an hour west of Houston.
The firefighter’s mother and ex-wife sued Araguz Loyd to keep her from receiving death benefits, arguing that the marriage wasn’t valid because she was born a man. Araguz Loyd spent years fighting that assertion in court, until in 2014 a state appeals court ruled that she was a woman at the time of her marriage.
The case thrust her further into the national spotlight. She was featured on the television show 20/20, and other transgender activists took up her cause. She also was interviewed for a lengthy profile in Out Magazine and spoke of her battle with drug addiction as a young adult.
While her case played out in court, Araguz Loyd was arrested in Harris County after she was accused of stealing a woman’s Rolex watch. She spent nearly a month in jail in 2012.
Shortly after her release, new federal standards took effect requiring prisons and jails to make certain accommodations for LGBT inmates. Araguz Loyd had previously been booked under her birth name. After her theft arrest, Araguz Loyd’s case helped spark a policy change under thenSheriff Adrian Garcia, requiring that transgender inmates be addressed by their chosen name.
Araguz Loyd met Houston artist William Loyd following her release from jail, and the next year they married. Together they opened the Starving Artist art gallery in Montrose, and in 2014 she launched a web series, “Nikki’s American Dream,” about her life.
Araguz Loyd also rode in Houston’s Gay Pride Parade.