Michellyn Ramos Vargas, 35, is the sixth known trans person to have been murdered in Puerto Rico this year.
According to Puerto Rican news outlet El Vocero, Vargas – who was studying nursing and working in a factory in Sabana Grande – was found dead with head wounds at 6.15am on Wednesday 30 September near a road extending from San Germán to Hormigueros on the island’s west coast.Her body was identified by family members who said she lived in the nearby municipality of Lajas.
Police have not yet identified any suspects and have not stated whether the murder is being treated as a hate crime. Pedro Julio Serrano, LGBTQ+ rights activist and executive director of the community organisation Puerto Rico Para Tod@s, told The Americano: “They are.