Prosecutors have asked for a life sentence for the man accused of murdering Tehuel de la Torre, the 23-year-old trans man who disappeared in Buenos Aires Province in 2021. Closing arguments wrapped up on Friday afternoon. It is Argentina’s first trial for a case of trans-homicide (the murder of a trans man).

Facing consistent discrimination for his gender identity and in dire financial straits, de la Torre left for the house of Luis Alberto Ramos on March 11, 2021, with the promise of a job as a waiter. He was never seen again. Ramos was charged with de la Torre’s murder. A second defendant will stand trial separately.

The case has become sadly emblematic for the trans-travesti community. Advocates have shown how wide-ranging systemic issues facing the community fed into his disappearance, such as discrimination, exclusion from the formal labor market, and the justice system’s frequent refusal to investigate or prosecute attacks against trans people.

The trial, held at the Second Criminal Oral Tribunal in La Plata, shed more light on the day of Tehuel’s disappearance. Expert teams presented the contents of suspects’ phones and a psychological evaluation of Ramos which described him as “violent” and with “marked psychopathic traits.” Blood found in Ramos’ house was proven to be a 99.9% match to Tehuel (or the biological child of his parents using samples of their........

© Buenos Aires Herald