Florida man accused of beating trans woman to death outside ballet academy
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly beat a transgender woman to death outside “one of the nation’s foremost ballet academies” Tuesday morning, according to a report.
Gregory Fitzgerald Gilbert, 53, was charged with one count of second-degree murder.
Andrea Dorias Dos Passos’ body was found in the area of 22nd Street and Liberty Avenue near the Miami City Ballet after an employee “observed what he believed to be a person sleeping outside… near the main entrance,” an arrest report obtained by WTVJ said.
When authorities arrived, they found blood and trauma on Passos’ face. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
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According to WTVJ, police obtained surveillance footage that showed Passos arriving at the ballet academy at about midnight.
Then, a few short hours later, a man, identified as Gilbert, approached her as she was lying down. Video reportedly showed the man grabbing a metal pipe from the ground and bashing the victim’s head and face “several times.”
“The male is then seen standing over her, striking her and then manipulating her body… then walks away and places the pipe inside a nearby trashcan,” the report stated.
Gilbert was located a short while later and taken to the Miami Beach Police Department.
The 53-year-old had just been released from prison on April 17 after having spent more than a year in Miami-Dade custody, where he underwent mental evaluations and was given four years of felony probation after being charged with attempted armed robbery with a weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, WTVJ reported.
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The Miami City Ballet & Museum closed for the rest of the day Tuesday following the incident.
“I used to go to ballet classes right here when I was a child. I just feel like it’s getting increasingly more scary to be a woman,” resident Daniela Tabbara told WTVJ.
Miami police said the investigation is ongoing “as the judicial process unfolds, we are committed to collaborating closely with the State Attorney’s Office.”
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