Two men have been charged in connection
with the murders of two transgender women in Puerto Rico.
The women, Angelique Velázquez,
32, and Layla Pelaz, 21, were shot to death, their bodies placed in a
car under a bridge in the municipality of Humacao on the island's
southeast coast and set on fire.
Sean Díaz de Leon, 19, and Juan Carlos
Pagán Bonilla, 21, are accused of killing the women. According to an
FBI affidavit, the men had sexual relations with the women at Pelaz's
home. Pelaz told Díaz that they were transgender after they had been
intimate. Díaz, who was furious, told Pagán that the women were
transgender.
“Díaz reaffirmed to Pagán that he
wanted to shoot and kill both Victim 1 (Velázquez) and Victim 2
(Pelaz) for tricking them into having sex without telling them that
they were transgender,” reads the affidavit. “Victim 2 (Pelaz)
continued trying to calm Díaz down and proposed that the four of
them get more marijuana to smoke and talk a little more. Díaz pulled
Pagán aside and told him to take them up on their offer to go out,
and Díaz would shoot Victim 2 (Pelaz) and Victim 1 (Velázquez) once
they reached the highway.”
Díaz shot the women as Pagán drove
Pelaz's car. The men then parked the car under the bridge and set it
on fire.
In a press release, the Department of
Justice said that Díaz and Pagán were in federal custody and would
be charged under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes
Prevention Act.
If convicted, the men could face the
death penalty.
Five transgender people have been
murdered in Puerto Rico this year, including Velázquez
and Pelaz.