Police in the Caribbean nation of the
Dominican Republic are investigating the brutal double homicide of
two transgender women, reports the Spanish news agency EFE.
Eduardo Padilla, 23, and Ramon
Martinez, 26, were brutally tortured before being killed in the
northern city of Santiago, Central Cibao Police District spokesman
Col. Jesus Cordero Paredes said.
The police spokesman said one of the
victims was stabbed 40 times, severely beaten in the genitals, arms
and face and her eyes were torn out.
The second victim was found bound,
stuffed in a bag with her legs broken. She also was stabbed and
burned, Cordero Paredes said.
The spokesman said the pair were
tortured in a “cruel” fashion. Two suspects are in custody; men
the victims' relatives identified as “friends.”
Violence against transgender people has
become increasingly common in Santiago, a conservative city, EFE
reports.