Update (January 8, 2019): After an investigation conducted by the Brazilian Civil Police, the killers of 21-year-old Matheusa Passarelli have been identified.
As Blavity reported, shortly after the death of activist Marielle Franco in March, Passarelli, a non-binary LGBTQ activist, went missing. It was later determined they were killed after entering the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Morro do 18. The murder was thought to be rooted in homophobia.
“According to the information, my sister was executed when she entered one of the communities in the neighborhood,” their brother wrote on Facebook.
Passarelli’s body was never found. It was initially assumed their body was burned by drug traffickers, though the identities of the killers hadn’t yet been determined. Investigations by the Locals Discovery Office (DDPA) eventually confirmed this assumption, concluding her body was first quartered and then cremated.
Reports now state Passarelli arrived in the Morro do 18 neighborhood after leaving a party about one mile away. Upon entering, they were then surrounded. Passarelli was attempting to pull the barrel away from a rifle when they were shot.
The murderers have been identified as Genilson Madson Dias Pereira, the GG, and Messias Gomes Teixeira, the Ugly, drug traffickers in the Morro do 18 neighborhood. Both men are being charged with murder and the concealment of a corpse.
Police, however, are still looking for P da Boa, the man who fired the fatal shot.
Original: In a city heavily militarized by President Temer of Rio de Janerio after the death of councillor Marielle Franco, 21-year-old student Matheusa Passarelli was murdered.
According to The Dawn News, Matheusa was a first-generation student at the State University of Rio de Janeiro for audio-visual arts and was openly a part of the LGBTQIA+ community, for which they advocated. Matheusa was non-binary, considering herself as neither male or female.
They were last seen at a party in Encantado on Sunday, April 29.
Relatives organized the campaign “Cade Matheusa Passarelli,” meaning “Where is Matheusa Passarelli?” to draw attention to their loved ones' disappearance. But their efforts were cut short for fear of putting others in danger.
“We had to stop the search and concentrate our energies on the institution’s investigation” Passarelli’s brother wrote on Facebook. “According to the information, my sister was executed when she entered one of the communities in the neighborhood.”
After about a week of investigating, police finally determined that their body may have been burned by drug traffickers. It is not yet known, but assumed, that Matheusa's identification may have been a motive behind the attack, making the attack a display of homophobia.
The killer has not yet been identified.
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