María José Torres Astros
Age 33 (born 16 Jan 1990)17 Jan 2023
Villavicencio, Meta (Colombia)
Stabbed
TDoR list ref: tgeu/tdor2023/18-Jan-2023/María José Torres Astros
María was found in her home with a stab wound to her chest.
February 3, 2023. The murder of María José Torres Astros has generated rejection among her community. On January 18, 2023, the body of this 33-year-old businesswoman was found with a stab wound to her chest in the Mavicure neighborhood of Villavicencio.
According to the local outlet El Cuarto Mosquetero, Viviana Palacios, Villavicencio's Secretary for Women, rejected this murder and called on the authorities to treat it as transfemicide. This call was joined by Raiza Parra, a trans woman human rights defender, stressing that this is the second homicide of an LGBTIQ+ person in Meta in 2023. On social networks, the authorities have been sued to provide an effective response to this case using the hashtag #JusticiaParaMajo.
Therefore, the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation is required to quickly investigate this case, based on the possibility that it is a case of homicide motivated by prejudiced motives regarding the gender identity of María José. In all the events registered against LGBTIQ+ people there must be an analysis that includes the possibility of violence due to prejudice towards people with diverse sexual orientations, identities and gender expressions.
Caribe Afirmativo requests that a working group be convened to analyze and take action on the facts, applying the guide to good practices that we developed with the Prosecutor's Office for the investigation of these facts with a gender approach that allows establishing if they had an origin of violence based on prejudice towards the sexual orientation, identity or gender expression of the victims.
Majo era una mujer trans, modelo webcam, empresaria y amiga. Fue asesinada en su casa de Villaviencio el pasado martes 17 de enero, un día después de su cumpleaños número 33. pic.twitter.com/uScWV58H6l
— Amaranta Hank (@AmarantaHankTw) February 3, 2023
Majo was a trans woman, webcam model, businesswoman and friend. She was murdered at her home in Villaviencio on Tuesday, January 17, one day after her 33rd birthday.
They found her body with a knife buried in her chest. The authorities came and dared to say that it could be a suicide. What cynicism!
It was her bosses and her neighbor who handed over information to the authorities and even a video with the face of the main suspect who, by the way, is free, like her sentimental partner who mistreated her.
His mother, an elderly woman, was given the body without any explanation of death. It is not known if she struggled with the killer or if she was mistreated in other ways before or after she was killed.
What has prevented the investigation from advancing? What was a trans woman? That she worked as a webcam model? That her mother was an older woman who couldn't make any more claims? That in a small town everything is silent?
This is a TRANSFEMINICIDE. Majo was murdered and no one is talking about this. we need to take charge of the case so that there is #JusticiaparaMajo.
María was remembered by those close to her as a person who was "independent and full of joy".
https://caribeafirmativo.lgbt/mujer-trans-fue-asesinada-en-villavicencio-meta/
https://twitter.com/Asoceacol/status/1622046584052539392
https://twitter.com/Vmujereslibres/status/1621889405098115075
https://twitter.com/AmarantaHankTw/status/1621506339968016384
https://twitter.com/AmarantaHankTw/status/1622037084973289473
