The disappearance of Tehuel de La Torre, the 21-year-old trans man who went out to look for work and never returned, reaches its fifth anniversary, with a life sentence for the person responsible for the crime and the disappearance of the body.
The event occurred on March 11, 2021, when Tehuel began a journey to the Buenos Aires district of San Vicente to attend a job interview, in search of a waiter position.
The last person to see him alive was his sister Verónica. It was to her that he told that he was going to the house of Luis Alberto Ramos, a 37-year-old man who had offered him a job as a waiter at an event.
Tehuel arrived at Ramos’ home (where Oscar Montes, another accused, was also found) on the afternoon of March 11 and from that moment on, his trace was lost.
The historic sentence
On July 11, 2025, Chamber I of the Criminal Cassation Court of the Province of Buenos Aires confirmed the life imprisonment against Ramos for the murder of the young man, after rejecting appeals by the defense, under the charge of homicide aggravated by hatred of gender identity and sexual orientation.
The measure, signed by judges Daniel Carral and Ricardo Maidana, who placed special emphasis on Tehuel’s vulnerability as a young trans person in a situation of informal employment, a cause that Ramos took advantage of to attract Tehuel to his home.
Another point they expressed in the resolution is that the disappearance of the body and the burning of the young man’s belongings constitute a symbolic act of denial of his identity, which reinforces the existence of a discriminatory motive.
This section is related to the fact that the young man’s body has not yet been found even though more than five years have passed since his disappearance.
The evidence that allowed the maximum sentence to be achieved was the records of security cameras, Tehuel’s SUBE card, the geolocation of his cell phone, images on the accused’s phone where the victim appears, charred remains of his belongings found in a field, analysis of blood stains with a genetic profile matching Tehuel and the evasive behavior of the accused.
Regarding the other defendant in the case, Oscar Montes, we are waiting for the start of his jury debate to be issued.
Where is Tehuel?
The case began after Michelle, Tehuel’s girlfriend, filed a complaint for the disappearance at the 1st Police Station of San Vicente, on March 13, 2021 after having had no news about the young man for two days. That was when the Police geolocated Ramos’ victim’s cell phone.
Ramos and Montes, who were initially arrested for concealment, hindering the investigation and false testimony. The cell phone in addition to the discovery of the investigators who found Tehuel’s jacket set on fire and the young man’s DNA on the wall of Ramos’ house.
The Ministry of National Security established a reward of 5 million pesos for those people who provide accurate information about the whereabouts of the victim.
Although both always stated that they were not involved in the case, there was several evidence that contradicted them.
On August 30, 2024, the Oral Criminal Court No. 2 of La Plata, made up of judges Claudio Bernard, Silvia Hoerr and Ramiro Fernández Lorenzo, ruled that Ramos is guilty, not only of the crime, but also of the disappearance of the body and “the damage that this causes to his loved ones.”
In this podcast you can listen to the complete history of Tehuel.
