Webcam model Felipe Garzón was tortured and murdered in his Bogota apartment on Dec. 12. By two men he reportedly met on a dating app. Garzón’s partner, Henry Castiel, asserts that the murder was the result of a hate crime that targeted Garzón because of his sexuality. This contradicts speculations of a fatal burglary. Castiel claims that Garzón was tortured and choked with a pride flag before dying. “They tortured and choked him with the flag that represents our community,” Castiel told local news outlet Noticias Caracol.
The two men, who were let in willingly by the 22-year old victim, were last seen leaving the apartment at 8.38 p.m. Garzón’s body was discovered by friends the following day. They reportedly had a locksmith open the apartment door after not having been able to reach the victim all day. When they entered they found Garzon lying naked, muzzled with a pride flag and with both his hands and feet tied. He was last seen at 6.42 p.m. in his apartment the day he was killed. The victim, who also was a systems engineering student, lived in a neighborhood named Las Nieves, in central Bogota.
Members of Colombia’s LGBTQ+ community are reportedly on high alert after Garzón’s murder. Local authorities report that 111 Colombians have been killed in 2022 for being LGBTQ+ thus far. Colombian authorities are currently offering a cash reward for information that leads to the arrest of Garzón’s killers.