The brutal murder of a prostituted woman in Argentina is no longer being reported as a “femicide” after it was discovered that her killers did not identify as male.
Brenda Córdoba, 28, was murdered on November 10 of 2021 in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Balvanera. Grisly surveillance camera footage released by police during the investigation into her death showed Córdoba being approached by what appeared to be a man in a white hoodie and face mask. The man circled around to her back before grabbing her in a headlock and stabbing her multiple times in the chest.
Córdoba, who was dropped into a puddle of her own blood, was initially found alive by passersby who had attempted to intervene in the stabbing and rushed to hospital. She died as a result of her injuries days later.
Additional security camera footage was uncovered in which the individual who attacked Córdoba was seen leaving the area with someone else.
Police began disseminating images taken from the footage in October of this year along with a call for assistance from the public to identify the two suspects after difficulty in finding leads.
On November 2, two individuals were taken into custody after neighbors saw the call for leads and photos from the crime scene and alerted police. But while law enforcement officials had initially put out a call for two men, both suspects involved in Córdoba’s murder were found to be transgender.
Alex Maia Sam Estela, a trans-identified male, is believed to have been the one who stabbed Córdoba, while his accomplice, Christian Santiago Machado Abad, another trans-identified male, is currently considered an accomplice. Some local media reports refer to Abad as a “transvestite,” differentiating him from Estela, who is consistently identified as a “trans woman.”
The motive for Córdoba’s murder is believed to have been a territorial dispute, in which she was targeted for “working” on a street corner that had been claimed by Abad and Estela. She is known to have had a hostile interaction with Abad prior to her murder.
While Córdoba’s slaying has been reported as being considered a femicide under Argentinian law for the past year, the revelation of the gender identity of her alleged killers has resulted in that classification being dropped.
According to Infobae, the case file was initially treated as a femicide due to the fact the attacker was wearing male clothing and so was believed to be a man. But since the identities of the two suspects have been revealed, media is no longer referring to the slaying as a femicide.
Femicide in Argentina is considered a crisis, with one woman being murdered by a man every 25 hours on average.
In 2012, Argentinian lawmakers amended the criminal code to recognize femicide as an aggravated form of homicide. The femicide provision was defined broadly as “a crime against a woman when the act is perpetrated by a man and gender violence is mediated.”
Trans-identified males can be included as victims of femicide in Argentina, but also have a separate provision for “transfemicide.”
Earlier this year, a prominent trans-identified male activist was murdered by his boyfriend in the country’s Santa Fe province. Alejandra Ironici, 45, was the first person in Argentina to legally change his gender identity. Ironici’s 32-year-old partner, has been charged aggravated femicide as well as transfemicide.
Córdoba’s case bears striking resemblance to one recently reported out of Spain.
In October, Reduxx revealed that a man who abused his female partner had avoided charges of gender-based violence after it was learned he had begun to identify as a woman.
Gender-based violence is a specific charge which exists in Spain to classify male violence against women. It was introduced after feminist activists in the nation pointed out the need for a law to address the pervasive issue of sex-based violence perpetrated by men against women. In addition to being a unique classification, the charge comes with tailored protections for female victims, such as the ability to have the abuser removed from the home.
In the case Reduxx reported, the male abuser’s gender identity being changed meant he could no longer be charged with gender-based violence as he was not considered a “man” under law. Instead, he was charged with domestic violence, which dropped the sex-based distinction and did not provide any specific protections for his victim.
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