Police discover decomposing body of trans man in abusive partner’s apartment

Police in San Juan, Puerto Rico made a grisly discovery in the apartment of a man recently released from jail following a domestic violence charge: the body of his trans ex-boyfriend.

Officers found the decomposing body of 22-year-old Luis Ángel Diaz Castro hidden in the closet of his former boyfriend, Domingo Rafael Aquino Ubri, on Friday, August 11. Castro’s body was hidden under a pile of clothes and a suitcase.

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Castro had gone missing four days earlier, the same day that Aquino Ubri was released from jail on charges of abusing Castro.

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The victim called his mother that day using a friend’s borrowed cell phone to tell her that his former boyfriend had been released, according to El Vocero de Puerto Rico. It was the last time anyone heard from him.

Just days after Castro went missing, Ubri allegedly robbed a store at gunpoint and escaped with a cash register before the owner tracked him down and detained him. Police arrested the suspect and held him at the local police station.

That day, while Ubri was in detention, Castro’s mother went to the same local police station to file a missing persons report. When she became aware Ubri was being held for the robbery, she alerted police of the suspect’s history with her son.

Police searched the man’s apartment and soon discovered Castro’s decomposing body.   

According to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Castro was a student at The Universidad de Puerto Rico en Arecibo and worked for the Department of Education at the time of his death.

“Although it brings the community some solace knowing Luis’s killer is in police custody, it breaks my heart to witness the life of my trans brother end far too early,” said Tori Cooper, director of community engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative at HRC.

“Luis was only 22 and should still be alive to experience the joy that comes with being in your twenties. Luis’s death adds to the drastic uptick we’ve seen in trans murders in 2023, yet in his death, we must remember to celebrate his life,” Cooper added.

According to the HRC, Castro is the 19th transgender, nonbinary, or gender-nonconforming American to die by violence in 2023.