The Office of the Medical Examiner has ruled the still-unsolved deaths of Julio Ramirez and John Umberger as homicides.
Both men — who disappeared and were later found dead in separate incidents in April and May of 2022 — were determined to have died of drug overdoses now ruled as “drug-facilitated thefts”. The Office of the Medical Examiner confirmed to W42ST that each victim was found to have been dosed with a combination of fentanyl, p-fluoro fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, lidocaine and ethanol.
A spokesperson for the NYPD told W42ST: “NYPD’s Crimes Against Persons Unit, along with the Manhattan North and South Homicide Squads, are jointly working with our partners in the New York County District Attorney’s Office to investigate several incidents where individuals have been victims of either robberies or assault. Some of the victims are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, however it is believed that not all of the victims are. It is also believed that the motivation for these assault/robberies is monetary gain.”
MORE UPDATES ON THE JULIO RAMIREZ AND JOHN UMBERGER CASES
Ramirez, a 25-year-old mental health counselor, disappeared on April 21 after a night out in Hell’s Kitchen at The Ritz Bar and Grill. After being seen leaving the club with three unidentified men, he was later discovered dead in a taxi on the Lower East Side, his bank accounts emptied. Just over a month later, Umberger, a 33-year-old political consultant in town from Washington, DC, disappeared after a night out at local gay bar The Q. Like Ramirez, Umberger was last seen leaving the club with several unidentified men before being discovered dead, his bank accounts also drained, on June 1, 2022.
While an arrest was made in the separate murder case of two Lower East Side clubgoers, no suspects have been identified in Ramirez’s and Umberger’s cases. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told W42ST that the cases were still under investigation.
Umberger’s mother Linda Clary told W42ST that the announcement confirmed what she has known to be true since her son’s death. “We are relieved by the conclusions of the NY County Medical Examiner and her final determination. When I consider what people tried to tell me on June 1, 2022, and what I knew to be otherwise this final determination is a great reminder of the power of perseverance in search of the truth,” said Clary adding, “We are grateful for NYPD Homicide Detective Randy Rose. He made the difference.”
This is a developing story and we will update with further details as they are released.
Finally. I can’t understand why this took 11 months to confirm.
It took 11 months because the drug crowd in the bars stonewalled the police when they try to investigate drug predation like they always do. When they try to investigate they encounter “witnesses” who claim the guys took the drugs themselves. Drug dealers and the drug crowd run the gay bars.
HUH??
I still hope for justice. I think there must be a lot the investigators are not telling us.
“Alpha” gay men normalized predatory drugging in gay bars some time ago. They have made us sitting ducks and the gay bars have been vile for some time and we need to stop going to them, otherwise we are enablers. Young gay men need to be warned to stay away from the bars, the only community there is the drug crowd. There is no greater example of internal homophobia than a gay man drugging another gay man for any reason. These are just two of the hundreds, perhap thousands, that have been murdered this way across the country.
Well, that’s one way of looking at it. You seem awfully certain the perpetrators are gay. What makes you so sure? Do you know something about these crimes that you’re not telling?
I hate to sound cliche but they treated themselves to brunches, spa days, and shopping trips at Bloomingdales after they committed the murders using the victim’s credit cards. Who knows, maybe it’s all a red herring and they just did all that to cover their tracks?
Could you share the link to the news story that reveals where the money was spent? I’ve been searching for a source that provides this information, and I would greatly appreciate it if you could share it. Thank you in advance!
Here is a story about another victim that is related. I had read about this as well regarding Umberger. I can’t find that story now. https://pix11.com/news/local-news/nyc-club-goers-tell-late-social-workers-friend-they-were-drugged-oo/
we don’t know what they use the cards. Please stop with all of these dumb unhelpful comments.
What the hell is wrong with you?
Here…this one just says expensive dinners and spas: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/new-york-gay-men-murder-b2219498.html