Transsexual in Italian political scandal murdered
A Brazilian transsexual caught up in a scandal which prompted the resignation of a senior Italian politician — the centre-left governor of Lazio region, which includes Rome — was found burnt to death in his home on Friday.
The police found a body following a fire in a basement flat in a neighbourhood frequented by transsexual prostitutes, and court sources said magistrates were treating the death as murder. Forensic tests were expected to identify the remains as those of a transsexual known only as Brenda, the police said.
Brenda and another Brazilian transsexual were at the centre of a case involving the blackmail of former Lazio Governor Piero Marrazzo by four police officers who secretly filmed him having sex and taking drugs with one of the transsexuals.
Marrazzo, who was elected governor in 2005, quit his post when the case came to light.
