Public Prosecutor's Office denounces the murder of a trans man with 40 stab wounds as femicide; brother is suspected

According to Prosecutor Miguel Germano Podanosche, although the case was initially treated as homicide , the Public Prosecutor's Office opted to charge it as femicide . He said the decision was based on the vulnerability of people assigned female at birth:

"The complaint was made precisely because of the marked vulnerability that women face in various spheres of life, especially within the family. In this sense, it is undeniable that people who were assigned female at birth but identify as male experience even greater vulnerability," she says.

The prosecutor explains that the classification as femicide is based on the wording of the law that established this crime in the Penal Code, which refers to the female sex, without requiring that gender identity or expression be considered.

The prosecutor explains that the femicide law considers the sex assigned to a person at birth, and not necessarily the gender identity with which they identify. In other words, even if the victim identified as male, the law allows the crime to be treated as femicide because she was born female, according to Podanosche.

The suspect, who has been in pretrial detention since July 22, will remain in custody until trial. If convicted as per the terms of the indictment, he could face up to 55 years in prison .

The complaint alleges that the crime was committed using cruel means , causing intense suffering to the victim due to the numerous blows. A method of defense was also allegedly used that hindered his defense : the attack took place in a rural area, during the early hours of the morning, without anyone present except the brothers' mother.

The investigation identified two factors that motivated the crime. The first: futile , as the disagreement allegedly began when the victim asked her brother to be quieter so as not to disturb their mother's rest.

The second motivation is linked to the victim's history of suffering. Documents from the Civil Police and protection agencies revealed a history marked by family conflicts, two stints in foster care, a suicide attempt, reports of possible sexual abuse by another relative, and rejection related to their gender identity.

For the prosecutor, these elements suggest that the aggressor did not accept the victim's presence in the family, with her gender identity being one of the factors that influenced the crime .

In addition to qualified femicide, the defendant will also be held responsible for psychological violence against the mother , who witnessed the murder.

The crime took place on July 19, in the community of Divino Faxinal, rural area of Ibiaçá.

According to the Civil Police, the victim was a trans man who was visiting his mother. The victim's brother lived with her.

On the day of the crime, the murdered man's brother had reportedly returned to his mother's house after visiting a neighbor. The two allegedly argued, and the victim was killed in front of the woman. The man then fled and turned himself in to the police four days later.