Questions still surround death of Julio Ramirez, found unresponsive in back of cab in Manhattan

By Kevin Rincon

Click here for updates on this story

    NEW YORK, New York (WCBS) — A family is still desperate for answers more than a month after a young man was found dead in the back of a cab after a night out in Manhattan.

They say his bank accounts were drained days after he died.

Carlos Ramirez spoke glowingly of his brother, Julio, a young man full of drive.

“He accomplished so much in his short life,” Ramirez told CBS2’s Kevin Rincon.

Julio moved to the city a year ago after graduating with a double masters from the University of Buffalo. The 25-year-old worked as a mental health therapist in Brooklyn.

“He had a thousand-watt smile, that kid, man,” Ramirez said.

On April 20, he went out with friends in Hell’s Kitchen and made several stops, before ending the night at the Ritz Bar and Lounge, a popular gay venue.

His family says there’s surveillance video of him getting into a cab with three men.

Hours later, the taxi driver called police to report Julio as unresponsive and alone. He would later be pronounced dead at the hospital.

Cops as of now maintain his death was not suspicious, but loved ones disagree.

“I don’t know who those people are, you know. His friends don’t know who those people are. That’s pretty suspicious,” said Karinina Quimpo, a friend of Julio’s.

She took to social media, pleading for answers.

“He’s been buried, you know. The wake is done. The funeral is done. Now we’re left with questions. We don’t know what to do,” she said.

Part of her concern is how Julio was found — with nothing on him. No glasses, no watch, no phone, no wallet.

His brother has his own theory.

“Somebody drugged him to take his phone, to rob him. I mean, that is what happened. There is not a doubt in mind that’s what happened,” Ramirez said. “Literally my brother was killed over greed.”

The reason he believes that is because he found nearly $20,000 worth of bank transactions made after his death, and he even knows how that money was spent.

“For designer shoes, to go to a spa and have fancy dinners, and buy Jordans for kids, for your kids,” Ramirez said.

The family was told it’ll take months for the medical examiner’s office to determine the cause of the death. As for police, they say the investigation is ongoing.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.