Name Unknown
15 Feb 2020
Rome, Lazio (Italy)
Murdered
TDoR list ref: tgeu/18-Feb-2020/Lara Argento
The decomposed body of a trans woman was found under a mattress on the banks of the Tiber in Rome on Saturday 15th February.
Early indications are that she died several weeks earlier.
Around 10 am on Saturday 15 February, a decaying body was found by the traffic police on the banks of the Tiber, in an uninhabited and degraded area in the Villa Spada area of Rome. According to the coroner, who hypothesized that it is the body of a trans woman, the death dates back to about a month ago.
The corpse was hidden by a mattress which, together with the unusual place of discovery, suggests that it is a murder with subsequent concealment. The track of the murder is in fact followed by the men of the police, who wait for the results of the autopsy to have more information on the cause of death.
Less than a month ago, another trans woman had been found dead inside her home in Frosinone: even in that case, police intervention was needed to investigate the dynamics of the death. The numbers of trans people killed every year in the world are alarming; Transrespect versus Transphobia Worldwide (TvT) presents every year, on the occasion of the TDoR, a report with the count of all cases recorded in the last year: in 2019 331 trans people were killed in the world, with Italy at the top in Europe.
The location where the discovery took place is frequented by stragglers, prostitutes, transsexuals and couples looking for intimacy and transgression away from prying eyes. Nor is it possible to exclude the track of murder by a maniac. In April last year the mutilated body of another [LGBT+ person] was found in via Franco Angeli in the Prenestino district, while in June in Trigoria the charred body of a trans [person] was found.
Note: Observatorio Trans record in their data that the victim may be Lara Argento, who has been missing since 21st December 2019:
22 - Lara Argento, Brazilian, Roma (Italy), 02/18/2020
Lara Argento's searches lead to Rome, because after the great mobilization of forces and the maxi operation carried out on Monday morning, February 10, in Canarazzo, a body was found on Saturday morning in Rome, near the Tiber. A body in an advanced state of decomposition that, however, could be that of Lara, the Brazilian escort who disappeared from Pavia on December 21 last year.
Consequentially the TGEU TDoR 2020 list names her accordingly, but in fact (see https://www.ilgiorno.it/pavia/cronaca/trans-scomparsa-1.5124653) it appears that a DNA examination has ruled this out.
On February 15 the lifeless body of a transsexual [woman] was found in Rome: the comparison of DNA excluded a correspondence since immediately considered unlikely.
TvT partner organisation: IBTE
https://primapavia.it/cronaca/ritrovato-cadavere-a-roma-vicino-al-tevere-e-forse-lara/
https://www.neg.zone/2020/02/16/roma-cadavere-donna-trans/
https://www.leggo.it/italia/roma/giallo_tevere_ritrovato_cadavere_di_un_transessuale-5053569.html
