A 25-year-old social worker and mental health counselor was found unresponsive in the backseat of a New York City taxi following a night out in the city’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood.
The victim was later identified as 25-year-old Julio Ramirez, a resident of Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, who had recently moved to the city a year ago after graduating with a double masters from the University of Buffalo. His friends described him as “sweet” and a “smart young man,” and his brother, Carlos, said Julio “believed in serving underprivileged communities.”
On April 20, Ramirez, who was an out gay man, went out with friends in Hell’s Kitchen and made several stops before ending the night at the Ritz Bar and Lounge, a popular gay bar. Surveillance footage from outside the bar shows Ramirez leaving the bar with three other men at 3:17 a.m. The four men then get in the back of a taxi.
A little less than an hour later, around 4:10 a.m., the taxi driver flagged down police in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. In the back of the taxi, officers found Ramirez, unresponsive and lacking identification, reports NBC News.
EMTs responding to the scene attempted to administer care to Ramirez, but were unsuccessful. Ramirez was pronounced dead at 4:49 a.m. at Mount Sinai Beth Israel hospital.
In a statement released on April 21, police said that the initial cause of death was a “possible drug overdose.” But the medical examiner told the outlet that Ramirez’s official “cause and manner of death are pending further study,” which could take a few weeks.
The three men who got into the taxi with Ramirez were not named or identified by police.
In the days following his death, Ramirez’s money started moving around. Ramirez’s family claims that $20,000 was removed from various financial accounts through purchases on Apps like Apple Pay and Zelle – though police have not verified that.
Carlos Ramirez said he logged into his brother’s laptop three days after his death and noticed that the Apple iCloud password had been changed, and his log in information had been changed for various online accounts. When he was able to access his brother’s emails, he noticed a string of weird money transfers. In addition, the accounts appeared to be active.
“They had literally taken every dollar that he had, all his savings and all of his money,” Carlos Ramirez said, according to CBS News.
Although Julio was found without his phone, glasses, watch or wallet, messages sent to his iPhone were marked “read” nearly 12 hours after he had been pronounced dead.
Carlos Ramirez has a theory about why his brother was killed.
“Someone drugged him to take his phone, to rob him,” he told CBS. “I mean, that is what happened. There is not a doubt in [my] mind that’s what happened. Literally my brother was killed over greed.”
D.C. resident Jevaughn Mark was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for selling fentanyl disguised as ketamine (“Special K”) to two gay men who died after using the drug.
Mark, 33, also known as "Ledo," ran what prosecutors described as a "prolific drug delivery service." He previously pleaded guilty to distributing 40 grams or more of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of cocaine, and possessing a firearm.
As part of his plea deal, Mark accepted responsibility for the deaths of 38-year-old attorney Brandon Román and 28-year-old Robert Barletta, a historic preservation expert who owned a home renovation business.
In the early morning hours of May 23, Sinners and Saints, an LGBTQ bar catering mainly to Queer and trans communities of color in Adams Morgan, was broken into.
Intruders shattered the glass on the front door, and after gaining entry, stole bottles of alcohol, shut off the bar's electricity, and left the back door ajar.
They also scrawled a homophobic slur on a wall.
An employee from the restaurant above the bar was the first to notice the break-in after going downstairs to investigate why the building was without power.
Koby Falks, a gay Australian adult film actor and OnlyFans creator whose Facebook and Instagram Reels earned him a devoted LGBTQ following, died on May 28 at the age of 42.
A representative for Falks -- known to family and friends as Anthony Cox -- announced his death in a June 1 Instagram post. The tribute included a photo of Falks standing outdoors with his arms crossed, an image of him sharing a kiss with his partner, Sam Brownell, and another of him posing alongside a friend.
"Koby Falks passed away earlier this week. He was loved by many and will be missed," the post reads.
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