Fatal Overdoses of 2 Who Died After Leaving Gay Bars Are Ruled Homicides
The fatal overdoses of two men who died and were robbed after leaving gay bars in Manhattan last year were ruled homicides on Friday by the New York City medical examiner’s office.
The determination came about 11 months after the body of the first victim, Julio Ramirez, was found abandoned in the back of a taxi on the Lower East Side.
The second man, John Umberger, was found dead in an Upper East Side townhouse about a month later. After their deaths, the men’s families discovered that thieves had drained the victims’ bank accounts using the facial recognition technology on their phones.
The nature of the deaths drew wide attention to a problem that has long haunted New York City nightlife: the use of easily acquired drugs to incapacitate and rob people, some of whom die of overdoses.
