Battered with bricks and stabbed: Two trans women brutally killed in Colombia in two days
Two trans women, Jerrika Rivas Ruíz (L) and Uber Agudelo Meléndez (R), were brutally killed in the space of two days in Colombia. (Facebook)
In just two days, two trans women were found dead by Colombian authorities in a spree of anti-LGBT violence that has battered the country.
Jerrika Rivas Ruíz was found allegedly murdered in the Los Mártires neighbourhood of Bogotá, the capital, on November 16.
It comes as the capital city has become a battleground of protests – bomb blasts and chants echoing across the city streets – as locals protested against President Iván Duque this week. Coming just weeks after the city elected a lesbian lawmaker as its mayor.
While Uber Agudelo Meléndez – called La Popis by loved ones – was found in Valle de Cauca the following day, local media reported. She had bricks chucked at her before being brutally stabbed, witnesses claimed.
Trans woman reportedly killed after fight with ‘another trans woman’ in downtown Bogotá.
Ruíz was, according to authorities, murdered on Saturday in Los Mártires. A working class downtown district dotted with convenience stores and specialty restaurants.
The 28-year-old from Palmira had lived for several years in the city.
Jerrika Rivas Ruíz was killed in the Colombian capital city following an alleged fight with another trans woman. (PinkNews)
She was pulled into a fight with “another trans woman” and was killed at around 3am, the sub-director of LGBT+ affairs for the Bogotá Mayor’s Office confirmed to TuBarco News.
Local law enforcement described that the alleged killer fled the scene soon after, and officers are combing the city in search of them.
Local community leaders explained that she was living on the streets at the time of her alleged killing.
Second trans woman killed had bricks thrown at her and was stabbed.
Just one day later, a second trans woman of colour was discovered dead by locals.
Meléndez was stabbed in the small town of Restrepo Valle. Curled up in a mountainous patch of Colombia, it’s known for its colourful street markets flogging bananas and sugarcane cane.
Uber Agudelo Meléndez, 41, was found dead in a town just near the Colombian coastline. Detectives believe she was battered with bricks before being stabbed. (PinkNews)
The 41-year-old was found by locals “on a public road, bloodied with several wounds on her body,” the prosector’s office stated.
She had suffered severe blows to the head, Noticias Caracol reported, which detectives explained may have been caused by hurled bricks.
According to community leaders, Meléndez was struck by bricks after being approached by three people. They stabbed her with sharp objects in the early morning, they claimed.
She died later in San José Hospital at around 8:15am.
