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ARGENTINA, Santa Fe. On Christmas Eve, Aldana Lorenz arrived at the JB Iturraspe Hospital with a relative, suffering from severe head trauma. Due to the severity of her injury, she was transferred to the Cullen Hospital. There, it is reported that the person accompanying her said Aldana was attacked by her brother at a house in the La Ranita neighborhood, northwest of the city of Santa Fe.

However, neither the police nor the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPA) were notified of the incident—despite local media reports—until this Monday, when the young trans woman died. The investigation only began 10 days after the attack.

Aldana was 35 years old. She worked as a prostitute but also made ends meet by bartering. Those who knew her remember that she loved wearing makeup and, whenever she could, she would save up some money to buy herself something new. “I met her around 1999. She was a very pretty girl, full of dreams, like all of us when we're young. Then time changes us,” laments Priscila Martínez, a trans activist.

And she adds: “I saw her go through very difficult things that changed her. She had problems and often stayed at my house. But what needs to be said is that she was a person with shattered dreams. I think what she experienced (before the crime) was due to the lack of family support, support from the State, and the real exclusion we feel in our studies and in our work. The inability to live a different life and having to adapt to what we have. I remember her as a person full of dreams that life kept cutting short.”

It wasn't just one blow

A few months ago, while working as a prostitute, a man ran her over with his motorcycle after she refused to pay him. She couldn't identify the assailant, so she didn't file a police report. 

The attack left him with several lasting effects that prevented him from continuing his activities. He had a severe bruise on his leg that continued to bother him, and dizziness resulting from the blow to his head.

She needed treatment, but the hospital hadn't told her when yet, she told her acquaintances. She wanted to go back to work to help her mother, with whom she lived and survived on municipal assistance.

The few facts about the case

From what could be reconstructed, on December 24th at siesta time she had an argument with her brother at her mother's house, in the La Ranita neighborhood, and he allegedly hit her on the head with a sharp object. 

She suffered a skull fracture, which aggravated her existing condition, so she was taken to Iturraspe Hospital. From there, it was decided to transfer her to José María Cullen Hospital.

She underwent surgery at the hospital and remained in intensive care, receiving no visitors, until she passed away on Monday. Only after her death became known was the police involved and the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPA) notified. 

Ten days had passed, which would have been key to clarifying the incident and arresting the aggressor.

On Tuesday, the first statements were taken from Aldana's family members, and on Thursday two raids were carried out. One was at the home of the victim's brother, who is wanted as the alleged perpetrator of the attack and is currently a fugitive; and the other was at the home of Aldana's mother, where the attack occurred.

Sources from the investigation confirmed to Presente that valuable items were seized to verify the facts and that, at the scene, the mother of the deceased young woman was notified, who is attributed "the alleged authorship of the crime of abandonment of a person".

The loneliness of the pandemic

Alejandra Ironici, a representative of Miser Santa Fe ( Movement for Sexual, Ethnic and Religious Integration ), explained to Presentes that, beyond the individual characteristics of this crime, attention must be paid to the impact that the pandemic had on trans and transvestite people.

“I think the pandemic finished off the trans community. It locked us in our own prison, where our sisters, who were already struggling, now face unemployment, inflation, and not knowing where to live. The isolation of the pandemic ultimately crushed and killed the entire trans community,” Ironici emphasizes.

Furthermore, he emphasized the lack of answers regarding the delay in communication with the police and the Public Prosecutor's Office (MPA), which is why several organizations will gather at the entrance of the José María Cullen Hospital on Tuesday at 11:00 AM to demand an investigation and sanctions for those responsible. The MPA stated that the situation is not currently under investigation because it is considered an administrative matter.

“We invite all diversity organizations and the community to gather at the hospital entrance. We want to request a meeting with the hospital director; we want to know why things were handled the way they were and why the protocols weren't followed,” Ironici emphasized.