Mother of trans woman beaten to death in Miami Beach speaks out for first time
MIAMI BEACH - For the first time, we are hearing from the mother of a 37-year-old transgender woman who police say was beaten to death early Tuesday with a metal pipe.
"It's just very sad what was done to her. It was just really really sad," said Ana Van Gilst, the mother of Andrea Dos Passos. "No one deserves to go that way."
"She was a very kind person. She was a very loving person. She did not see bad in anybody. She wanted to be friendly with everybody," she emotionally told CBS News Miami's Peter D'Oench. "Even when she was little she would say hi to everybody. She was also a very free spirit. She didn't like rules. She didn't like constraints."
"So one of our battles with her on mental health was she said I will go anywhere but I will not be locked up," Van Gilst added. "She said I can not lose my freedom and she said I can not lose who I am."
Miami Beach Police say Andrea was beaten to death with a metal pipe while she was sleeping outside the Miami City ballet building. Her parents said she was homeless.
Gregory Gibert, 53, has been charged with the crime. He came before MIami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer on Thursday and charges were upgraded from second-degree murder to first-degree murder. Gibert was held without bond.
Judge Glazer found probable cause for the charges and appointed an Assistant Public Defender for Gibert.
"Why did this happen?," Van Gilst asked. "Did they know each other?"
She and her husband Victor, the victim's stepfather, showed CBS News Miami the bedroom where Andrea sometimes stayed in their home.
"So many times I said to her honey, why don't you move back home?" Van Gilst said. "Let's do your treatment. We will help you. We have helped her so much with all of her transition."
Van Gilst said Andrea was her only child and had been dealing with mental health issues for more than 15 years. She said that she and her husband had done everything they could to help her. Victor Van Gilst said his stepdaughter chose to live on the street.
"We said to her move back home and she said 'no' because at home there are rules and I don't want to follow rules," he said.
The LGBTQ group, Pridelines, held a vigil Thursday night at their headquarters at 1130 Washington Avenue to honor her life and mourn her death.
Victor Van Gilst said he asked the detective in this case if the murder was a hate crime. He said the detective could not say if it was.