A trans woman drowned while people filmed and refused to save her because of her gender identity.
Sara Millerey González was raped, had her arms and legs broken before being thrown into Colombian river, according to Amnesty International.
On April 4, her body was found in the La García ravine that winds through the Playa Rica neighbourhood of Bella.
Officials believe she was beaten by locals, possibly with ties to criminal gangs.
At about 3pm, Sara’s mother, Sandra Borja, received a phone call from her sister telling her that her daughter was drowning in a creek.
She found Sara clinging to a branch, the muddy waters of the river crashing against her back.
Rather than help, a group of locals were filming her plead for help on their phones.
Those filming told passersby not to help Sara, a relative told El Colombiano.
‘There were some guys standing there, also with their cell phones recording what was happening to her, and they said not to help her,’ they recalled.
‘So there was fear of intervening for fear of being shot. It was necessary for the police to intervene.’
The video of Sara drowning went viral on social media.
The clip appeared to show someone in knee-high muddy water, her face visibly wounded, flailing around and unable to move their arms.
Sara was rescued by firefighters who took her to La María Hospital in central Bello, but she died the following day, having developed hyperthermia.
Her lungs were punctured and she suffered two cardiac arrests. She was 32. Dozens attended her funeral on April 8.
