14ymedio, Havana, December 1, 2023 — Two people, aged 27 and 36, were arrested this Thursday in the Malengro neighborhood for the alleged murder of Reynier Silegas Ramírez. The Cuban choral conductor, 43, was found dead last Tuesday inside his home in Barrière de Paris (France). The body, according to local media, showed “signs of violence,” so the crime was handled as a homicide from the beginning.
The authorities located the 27-year-old suspect after tracking Silegas Ramírez’s cell phone. Investigations indicate that this person helped the murderer, a 36-year-old Brazilian, to hide the evidence of the homicide. So the young man is being prosecuted for “covering up a theft.” The Toulouse Prosecutor’s Office is requesting “preventive detention” of the other person arrested, who is accused of “murder and robbery.”
The authorities have two hypotheses about the murder. One of them alludes to “a violent sexual game that allegedly got out of control”; the second is based on a discussion of the Cuban choral director with the Brazilian he met through social networks. However, for now, the reason is still unclear. “There are still many gray areas to be clarified,” the Prosecutor’s office acknowledged.
The Cuban artist was well known in Alto Garona and in Gers for his musical activity
The public ministry allowed an autopsy and toxicological and pathological analyses to “verify the cause of the death of Reynier Silegas Ramírez,” published the French media La Dépêche. According to the first findings, the victim was “hit with a blunt object and showed signs of strangulation.”
It was specified that the lifeless body of the Cuban director was found by the emergency services “naked, with a telephone cable wrapped around his neck and covered by a sheet.” Choir members told the authorities that Silegas Ramírez missed the rehearsal in the department of Gers.
The same publication highlighted that the Cuban artist was well known in Alto Garona and in Gers for his musical activity. Since his death, the tributes have multiplied.
The president of the Eclats de Voix du Gers festival, Patrick de Chirée, defined Reynier Silagas as “an exceptional artist.”
Meanwhile, the French salsa and Latin music festival Tempo Latino announced “a cheerful, warm and musical tribute” that will be paid to him in the next edition of Tempo Latino. “In memory of your immense talent, your panoramic elegance of Sonero and your magnificent generosity towards everyone.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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