Mexico’s First Nonbinary Judge Has Been Found Dead At Their Home And People Want Answers
39-year-old Jesús Ociel Baena and their partner were found dead at their home in Aguascalientes, México.
Mexico’s first openly nonbinary judge has been found dead at their home and people want answers.
On Monday Oct. 13, authorities found 39-year-old Jesús Ociel Baena and their partner, Dorian Nieves Herrera, dead at their home in Aguascalientes, México.
Ociel Baena and Herrera had wounds from a sharp weapon, and authorities said preliminary findings indicate it could have been a crime of passion rather than a hate crime as there was no evidence of a third person at the scene.
Ociel Baena’s family have rejected the authorities’ preliminary findings.
Human rights activists have also pointed out that Mexican authorities have a history of dismissing homicides as crimes of passion.
Following the news, thousands of protesters have taken to the street in at least five cities across Mexico, urging authorities to reinvestigate the death as Baena had received death threats.
Baena was one of the most visible LGBTQ advocates in Mexico, where sexual minorities are often targeted.
They had received “many hate messages, and even threats of violence and death” for their identity, according to LGBTQ organizations.
Just weeks before their death, Ociel Baena became one of the first people to receive a gender-neutral passport.
