A transgender teenager was murdered in southern Chile.

A 15-year-old trans youth identified as Leandro Parra Hermosilla was murdered in Coyhaique, a city located in southern Chile more than 1000 kilometers from Santiago.

September 20, 2019

By Airam Fernández, from Santiago, Chile

Photo: Josean Rivera

In the early hours of Thursday, September 19, a 15-year-old transgender youth identified as Leandro Parra Hermosilla was murdered in Coyhaique, a city in southern Chile, more than 1,000 kilometers from Santiago. Initial reports from the Carabineros (Chilean police) to the Movement for Homosexual Liberation (Movilh) in the Aysén region indicate that it was a knife fight during a celebration of the national holidays.

Police and paramedics from the Emergency Medical Service (SAMU) arrived at the scene after receiving a phone call from a neighbor on Independencia Street, where the party was taking place. Captain Bruno Schulbach, of the city's 1st police station, told local media that officers found the young man lying on the ground and attempted to administer first aid, but were unable to save him.

“It’s too early to confirm or rule out whether this was a hate crime motivated by intolerance, hatred, or transphobia. We know it happened during a fight, but so far we don’t know the reason,” Ariel Amigo, spokesperson for Movilh Aysén, told Presentes.

[READ ALSO: LGBTphobia in Chile: Trans woman attacked with machete and gay couple beaten]

Two hours after Parra's death, the Homicide Brigade arrested a 17-year-old initially identified as a suspect, but released him the following day. As of this writing, he remains hospitalized at the Coyhaique Regional Hospital because he was also injured. Authorities continue to question other witnesses and residents of the area.

"Indeed, there was a person considered a suspect after the initial proceedings, but their status was changed to witness or victim, while the investigations carried out by the Investigative Police continue," the prosecutor in charge of the case, Luis González Aracena, told the press at the end of the detention control hearing.

The spokesperson for Movilh Aysén said that the case was referred from Santiago to the Undersecretariat for Crime Prevention, and they requested legal and psychological support for the victim's family. "We also hope they will help determine if the case involved any transphobic elements, because if so, the Zamudio Law should be applied as an aggravating factor," he emphasized.

As of the time of this report, Parra's wake was being held at the El Carmen chapel on Freire Street in Coyhaique. Regarding this case, Movilh issued a call to the entire trans population of that small city of 55,000 inhabitants: “Reach out to us if you have experienced any violation of your rights, if you need legal assistance, if you are transitioning, or if you want to begin the process. You are not alone,” stated Ariel Amigo.

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