Remembering Our Dead

Manu Diniz

Manu's body was found on a railway line a day after disappearing. Her family faced criticism after burying her under her deadname.

The police are investigating the death of a young trans woman who was found dead on the railway line in Bangu, in the West Zone of Rio.

Manu Diniz, 24 years old, was buried on Wednesday (3) at the Campo Grande Cemetery with her given name – a male identification, which provoked complaints from friends and LGBTQIA+ activists. Friends and people close to Manu say that she had been treated as a woman for years, and that she had updated her documents. Despite this, it was her [deadname] that was placed on her tombstone.

Manu disappeared on the night of December 28 after experiencing a psychotic episode, according to the friend who filed the police report. In the police record, the friend said that she lived with Manu and that when she arrived home, her colleague displayed aggressive behavior, and that [during a psychotic break] she tried to grab a knife to attack her.

After that, the trans woman would have jumped from the 2nd floor and disappeared. Registration was made on December 30th. On this date, the body was already at the Campo Grande Legal Medical Institute, since it was found on the Bangu railway line on December 29th.

According to the Military Police, police officers from the Railway Group were called to an incident of finding a body. The investigation was called and the incident was forwarded to the 34th DP (Bangu). Manu's body spent four days without identification at the IML, until family members managed to identify her on Tuesday (2).

The victim had bruises and scratches on her stomach, as well as many cuts on her face and mouth. According to brother-in-law Jonatan Neves, who recognized the body, the cause of death was head trauma and Manu's teeth were broken.

https://www.metroworldnews.com.br/foco/2024/01/05/sinais-de-violencia-policia-apura-morte-de-mulher-trans-encontrada-sobre-trilhos-de-trem-no-rj/

https://enfoco.com.br/noticias/policia/morte-de-mulher-trans-e-investigada-pela-policia-no-rio-103549?d=1

https://g1.globo.com/rj/rio-de-janeiro/noticia/2024/01/04/policia-investiga-caso-de-mulher-trans-encontrada-morta-na-linha-do-trem-em-bangu.ghtml

https://www.metropoles.com/brasil/policia-investiga-morte-de-trans-encontrada-na-linha-ferrea-de-bangu

https://www.alagoas24horas.com.br/1568518/policia-investiga-caso-de-mulher-trans-encontrada-morta-na-linha-do-trem-em-bangu/

https://www.tupi.fm/rio/jovem-trans-e-encontrada-morta-na-linha-do-trem-em-bangu/

https://odia.ig.com.br/rio-de-janeiro/2024/01/6769059-policia-investiga-morte-de-mulher-trans-em-bangu-corpo-foi-encontrado-na-linha-ferrea.html

https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2024/01/04/policia-morte-mulher-trans-corpo-trilhos-rio-de-janeiro-bangu.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_j89mNTN55E

Report added: 11 Jan 2024. Last updated: 16 Nov 2024

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