Man arrested after homeless transgender woman beaten to death outside Miami City Ballet

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A man has been arrested and charged with murder after allegedly beating a homeless transgender woman to death with a pipe outside Miami City Ballet.

Gregory Fitzgerald Gibert, 53, has been charged with one count of second-degree murder in the killing of 37-year-old Andrea Dospassos, police said on Wednesday.

Dospassos’s body was discovered on Tuesday morning by a security guard at the ballet company’s venue who initially thought a person was “sleeping” near the main entrance and tried to wake her.

According to Mr Gibert’s arrest report, obtained by CBS, emergency responders observed trauma and blood on the victim’s face and head, which was partially wrapped in a sweater. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

CCTV footage obtained by detectives showed Dospassos lying down outside of the building around midnight. A man, dressed in a black shirt, red shorts, and red shoes, later arrived on the scene and approached her.

In the video, the report stated, the man is seen grabbing what appears to be a metal pipe from the ground and hitting the victim in the 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," read the report, per CBS.

Police were able to locate the suspect, identified as Mr Gibert, and take him into custody. He was wearing the same clothing seen in the footage which was covered in what appeared to be bloodstains.

At the time of the alleged incident Mr Gibert had been out on felony probation after being charged with attempted armed robbery with a weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, records from the Miami-Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation showed.

Dospassos’s stepfather said that she had been struggling with mental health problems for many years and at the time had been homeless. Victor Van Gilst told CBS that it was still unknown whether the alleged attack was a “hate crime”.

"She had no chance to defend herself whatsoever,” he told the outlet.

“I don’t know yet if this was a result of a hate crime since she was transgender or if she had already another interaction with this person. I don’t know if the other person was homeless as well.”

He added: “My wife is devastated. For her, this is like a nightmare that turned into reality. Andrea moved around a lot… She was sadly homeless. I feel the system let her down. She was a good person.”

The Independent has reached out to Miami Beach police for further information about the incident.