Three suspects have been arrested in the murder of a young, gay teacher/activist, according to Brazilian police. Professor Lindolfo Kosmanski’s burnt body was discovered on the side of a São João do Triunfo highway on April 30.
Local LGBTQ community members have called the 25-year-old teacher’s death a hate crime. Police say they are investigating and looking for a motive.
“We will have several other stages of data analysis, which is a more technological stage, in order to bring together all the elements necessary to hold those responsible for this nefarious crime to account,” Michel Leite Pereira da Silva, the police officer leading the case, told local news outlet Globo.
From what information has been released, Komanski was last seen at a local bar. He was shot twice and left in a burning car, though it’s unclear whether he died from the gunshots or the fire.
“He was well known in the region,” his cousin, Benedito Camargo, told UOL. “Before he died, he paid everyone for beer and then he disappeared. His cell phone stayed at the establishment. A friend said that Lindolfo would have received a death threat days before he was murdered.”
Komanski was active with the group Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST), which advocates for social justice and land reform. He was also a local teacher and was helping to raise his five younger siblings.
“He was a person known for affection and care; with a frank smile and an open heart, with a cheerful look, that captivate hugs and love,” MST said in a statement. “One of those beings who roam the world with a pounding heart, open to the challenge of learning, teaching and sharing” and who wanted to make a difference in the world.
“A legacy this size is impossible to forget, erase or burn out,” they added.
Prowelsh56
These stories are so much more importat tan any Colton , whatever his name is. This is REAL life…not some show.
TMBisAOK
Oh FFS! That’s your input to this story? Everything is important to a well balance, happy life. Dont go on a crusade just because some people like to hear fun, frivolous stories AS WELL AS can be saddened to hear deep, tragic ones.
barryaksarben
We are agents of change and I do wish AMerican gays gave more help to our fighters in other regions of the globe whose very lives are at risk while we look towards the next big party
valentino888
I agree with you.
Inspector 57
Yes!!!
Fahd
So sad, It’s hard to believe the police will do anything, but I hope they do find the perpetrators. North Americans should be more concerned with what’s going on in South America. Right now, the demonstrations in Colombia underscore the growing inequality throughout the continent, especially in the countries with big populations, including Brazil. This young activist, Professor Lindolfo Kosmanski was a force for good and deserves to be remembered. RIP
Doug
It’s not just South America, this is happening all over the world now… Nigeria, Poland, Russia, Iran, Indonesia. So many gay people need refuge away from these countries. Imagine having to live with this incredible persecution your whole life.
Mundo
La verdad!
Manrico Jimenez
Unfortunately there is a long history in Brazil of assassinations of land reform activists, i.e. Chico Mendes.
Kangol2
Absolutely horrific. Brazil does have amazing gay/LGBTQ rights and equality organizations, but there is only so much they can do when you have an abominable homophobe like Bolsonaro as the president, and his anti-LGBTQ cabinet and party in power. He is rabidly and proudly anti-gay, racist, classist, you name it. He’s also replicated Don the Con’s failures on Covid-19, if you can believe that. All the strides made by LGBTQ people, as well as the majority Afro-Brazilian population, have lost ground because of the incompetent, Drumpfian moron who controls the government. I hope they find his killers, but also as Barryaksarben says, that LGBTQ people help our fellow LGBTQ people across the globe in every way we can.
queerssip
Yes this is horrific and sad.
Mundo
Look to Lula nest election.
Chrisk
Of course Brazil is a very homophobic country. Being an activist could also get you killed. This sounds like a hit was put on him though.
jdb1213
It is super encouraging to hear that we should lend our support and help in any way we can to LGBTQ+ people around the world. Also, I think that it is wise advice to say that Americans should be more concerned and involved and interested in the happenings of those in South America. Some Americans are already doing so…. But having the voice collectively of caring Americans on said issues would be powerful and impactful.
cuteguy
We finally have a liberal prez and vp. Hope they use their political muscle and threaten Brazil with sanctions or something similar. This is unacceptable. Gay lives also matter
valentino888
That’s a good idea. It would make a bold and apparently necessary statement, as well.
Cam
I’m curious, when there is a brutal anti-LGBTQ attack in a country like Iran, all the trolls are on here talking about how anti-LGBTQ bigotry is apparently all the fault of Islam, yet they go strangely silent when there is a story about a brutal attack in a Catholic or Christian country like Latvia or Brazil.
This poor man, I feel so badly for his friends and family.
roiboihoutx
You guys are really making me laugh and it’s to the point where I am laughing and my little ole stomach is now beginning to ache due to the laughter deep within my little ole gay Catholic belly!!! Please behave and grant me this final agony of shame and unfathomable turmoil!
Leash
Not the reaction you’d expect from an article about a guy brutally murdered and burned, but go off sis.
Chrisk
Welcome troll. Yeah, i’ll bet murder makes you laugh. Hopefully karma catches up to you and you can experience it personally. That would be hilarious.
rand503
wow. Just wow. To think there are people like you in the world.
fredk
single? i hope so! what a catch!
Inspector 57
If I had a gun and just one bullet…
darklight413
People who do this have given themselves to evil. They WILL endure unimaginable suffering for their hideous crime. I pray that they fully understand what they have done and that they never have a restful moment until they do.
fredk
a sick impressionable segment of brazil population – those with low self esteem & with a need to blame others for their own personal failures – a simply mimicking their president’s point of view – he truly is a deranged and heartless creep.
valentino888
The trolls who are always on here (which is curious in itself) really need to come out of the closet already. Everyone already knows they’re gay. It is probably not the ‘secret’ they think it is. They should stop jackin’ it to gay porn every night, feeling guilty after ejaculation, then remaining online to troll gay people who had the courage to come out and make a difference in the world via unity and action. Set yourself free trolls. Put down the Bible and pick up a science book. Trolling doesn’t REALLY make you happy or get you off. Perhaps that’s where the anger comes from.
leecee
Great comment and a very succinct reading. Thanks
johnnysimpatico
Thanks for the reporting on this story and the beheading in Iran. These stories (our stories) are crucial. Follow up is important as well. And good reporting, because no one else is telling these stories, they must be researched, verified, and fully reported and followed up on. We need to know.
mateo
It’s my belief that Gay Pride events around the globe should now become focused on the plight of gay people who live in countries where their very existence can mean a death sentence, whether decreed officially or as something which is culturally acceptable by the majority. There is far too much complacency in so many Western countries and Pride has become a totally commercial event. It’s time to politicize Pride again.
mateo
Bolsonaro’s Brazil: rife with social and economic inequality, rainforest destruction (all in the name of brutal capitalism), Covid-19 out of control (he first denied its existence, and continues to speak out in favor of hydroxychloroquine, that anti-Malaria drug which has been proven to be completely ineffective), and rampant homophobia. He needs to be brought before the International Court of Justice in the Hague, and tried for crimes against humanity.