A homosexual rights activist whose participation in a 2014 prison battle ended in a landmark same-sex marriage victory in Florida has been discovered lifeless. His loss of life has been dominated a murder, police stated.
Jorge Diaz-Johnston, 54, had now not been noticed since Jan. 3 when his frame used to be discovered at a Jackson County landfill on Jan. 8, kind of 90 miles west of the place he used to be ultimate noticed in Tallahassee, government stated.
The trash had to start with been accrued from some other close by landfill, which is obtainable to the general public, in keeping with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Place of work, which stated an post-mortem will resolve a explanation for loss of life.
Diaz-Johnston ― whose brother is Manny Diaz, the chair of the Florida Democratic Birthday celebration and the previous mayor of Miami ― were dwelling in Tallahassee on the time of his disappearance.
Tallahassee Police Division
In 2014, Diaz-Johnston and his then-partner, Don Johnston, had been certainly one of six {couples} fascinated with a lawsuit filed towards Miami-Dade County over its same-sex marriage ban, in keeping with the Miami Bring in. The plaintiffs received in 2015, resulting in the primary homosexual {couples} marrying in Florida.
The couple, who had been additionally married in 2015, weren’t dwelling in combination when Jorge Diaz-Johnston disappeared. Don Diaz-Johnston, as he is referred to now, has now not been dominated out as a suspect.
Jorge Diaz-Johnston’s roommate has additionally been puzzled, TV station Native 10 Information reported Saturday.
Tallahassee police didn’t reply to HuffPost’s requests for touch upon Sunday.
Don Diaz-Johnston expressed his heartbreak on the information of his partner’s loss of life in a Fb publish on Wednesday.
“He touched such a lot of other folks along with his sort and beneficiant center,” he wrote. “There are simply no phrases for the lack of my cherished husband Jorge Isaias Diaz-Johnston. I will’t forestall crying as I try to write this.”
Manny Diaz, in a commentary posted to Twitter on Thursday, thanked native government for his or her proceeding investigation.
“Their dedication has supposed the arena to my circle of relatives and can proceed to imply the arena in our seek for justice,” he stated. “My brother used to be this sort of particular reward to this international whose center and legacy will proceed to survive for generations to return.”