Another day, another horrific, brutal murder of a young gay man. A 25 year-old teacher and activist was shot multiple times and then set on fire and left for dead. The body of Lindolfo Kosmaski was found in the burned out remains of a car left on the side of a highway in the São João do Triunfo section of Brazil on May 1st. Kosmaski was last seen leaving a local bar the night of his murder.
According to G1.Globo.com, three people, ages 20, 33, and 39, have been arrested for the murder. All three of them claim to have known Kosmaski. At this time there is no known motive for the murder, but Brazilian police are classifying it as a hate crime.
Kosmaski’s cousin thinks that he was threatened in the days before his murder,
“He was well known in the region. 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.”
Kosmaski was a local teacher and an activist involved with Brazil’s Landless Workers Movement (MST), a Marxist-inspired group that advocates for land reform and social justice (Out.com). Kosmaski taught in four local schools in the area. On their website, MST paid tribute to Kosmaski describing him as a “young, peasant, gay and full of dreams.”
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. 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. – MSTBrazil.com
A senseless murder of someone so young with so much potential, ambition and heart is heartbreaking on so many levels. May you Rest in Power Lindolflo.
Sources: Out, Metro Weekly, Globo , MSTBrazil.com
