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By Soledad Mizerniuk and Victoria Rodríguez, from Santa Fe

[Updated Wednesday, April 24, 2019]

[Updated Friday, April 19, 2019]

More than a year after the murder of 24-year-old trans woman Sol Gómez , a man was arrested and charged as an accomplice in the crime of aggravated homicide with cruelty. A woman was also arrested on Tuesday, April 16, in the province of Buenos Aires. 

At the arraignment hearing held on Tuesday, April 23, the woman was ordered to be held in pretrial detention, official sources reported. She is 23 years old, her initials are AAG, and she is charged as an accomplice in "aggravated homicide with cruelty," as is the man who was remanded in custody two weeks ago.

The transvesticide of Sol

The charred body of the young trans woman was found on the morning of March 7, 2018, in a garbage dump near the border between the cities of Recreo and Santa Fe. Last week, FDG, 23, was remanded in custody while authorities search for a possible accomplice.

The Santa Fe Ministry of Security reported on Friday, April 12, that FGD had been arrested the previous Saturday in Sarandí, Avellaneda district, Buenos Aires province. The young man was transferred to Santa Fe and charged with Sol's murder. Meanwhile, the search continued for another person: the Justice system had leads indicating that someone else participated in the crime.

According to the investigation, FGD was a friend of Sol and left the city shortly after neighbors found the young woman's murdered body. A series of facts made him one of the main suspects.

“It was a very unusual case that was difficult to solve. At first, we didn't have enough information to continue the investigation,” said the head of the Investigative Police (PDI), Martín Musuruana. “We began working in March of last year with the Homicide Investigation Team and the prosecutor. Several raids were carried out in the search for evidence, and they yielded positive results. That's why the prosecutor had the necessary elements for the arraignment hearing.”

The arrest warrant had been issued in October 2018. Based on new leads regarding the whereabouts of the main suspect, the investigation was reopened. Finally, on Saturday, April 6, FGD was arrested in Avellaneda.

The investigation

The Public Prosecutor's Office (MPA) confirmed that prosecutor Andrés Machi and the defense agreed to FGD's pretrial detention. The order was issued by Judge José Luis García Troiano of the Preliminary Criminal Investigation (IPP). The decision was announced at the hearing where Machi formally charged FGD as a co-perpetrator of aggravated homicide with cruelty.

Investigations were also ordered to determine the alleged responsibility of other people in the crime, since the prosecutor maintains that there was at least one other person involved in the murder of Sol Gómez.

"To increase their suffering"

According to the investigation being conducted by the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPA), the crime occurred on Tuesday, March 6th of last year, in a house located in the Recreo Sur area, not far from where the body was found. During the hearing, the prosecutor stated that both the accused and his accomplice committed the attack with the intention of killing Sol, of "increasing her extraordinary suffering ," and fully aware of what they were doing. He recounted that they inflicted "numerous cuts and stab wounds on different parts of her body," and that these injuries caused her death.

“After the attack, they transported Gómez’s body in a car to a garbage dump located approximately 1,000 meters east of the Oil gas station on National Route 11, near Juan de Garay Street. Once there, they set the body on fire in order to destroy any traces and evidence of the fatal attack,” Marchi concluded.

Another violation of their rights

Despite all the savagery and cruelty, Sol's clothing was still identifiable on her charred body, badly damaged by the fire. Those who knew her identified her as Sol Gómez, a 24-year-old trans woman who was murdered. Although she hadn't legally changed her name on her ID, she had identified with that name since she was 11.

Last year, in the article in Presentes that reported on the discovery of Sol's body, it was mentioned that the MPA (Public Prosecutor's Office) statement read: “The victim is a 24-year-old person whose initials are OOG. Prosecutor Andrés Marchi—after meeting with family members—requested that the identity not be released to protect the family's privacy.” Another source from the same agency reported: “IN PRINCIPLE (in all capital letters), it appears to be male.”

Article 12 of Law No. 26,743 on gender identity establishes that “the gender identity adopted by persons (…) who use a first name different from the one recorded on their national identity document must be respected.” This means that regardless of whether Sol had changed her name on her ID card, her self-perceived gender identity must be respected.

Following the criticism it received last year regarding its handling of Sol Gómez's identity, the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPA) made no reference this time to the name on her official documents. However, after FGD's arrest, the Provincial Ministry of Security reported: “The victim was Omar Osvaldo Gómez, also known as Sol Gómez, who had not legally changed his identity at the time of his death.” In fact, Musuruana, during the press conference, referred to “a transvestite stabbed and burned on Route 11.” This is yet another clear violation of national law and a further infringement of the young trans woman's rights.