Video shows moment trans woman beaten to death with metal pipe in Miami Beach, police say

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. – Local 10 News exclusively obtained video Thursday of the moments when a transgender woman was beaten to death with a metal pipe last month.

Andrea Dos Passos, 37, a transgender woman who was experiencing homelessness at the time, was sleeping outside the Miami City Ballet building when she was struck repeatedly with a metal pipe on April 23, according to authorities.

Miami Beach police said Dos Passos was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:56 a.m. Her grieving stepfather, Victor Van Gilst, said he had known her since she was 10 years old and described her as “wonderful.” He said she had been struggling with mental health issues for the last five to 10 years.

Surveillance video showed the suspect, who police identified as Gregory Gibert, sitting on a bench before walking up to Dos Passos and striking her 11 times with what appeared to be a metal pipe before throwing it in a nearby trash can and walking away.

The video also showed Gibert shaking Dos Passos’ head just moments after the attack.

Jail records show Gibert faces a charge of second-degree murder. He is being held without bond at the Miami-Dade County Pre-Trial Detention Center.

Gibert has a long criminal history in Miami-Dade County.

Most recently, he was out on probation after pleading guilty to attempted armed robbery and aggravated battery.

A close-out memo provided by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office details the crime, and what led to Gibert’s plea offer.

The state says Gibert approached a man in May of last year while carrying something sharp and demanded he get off a scooter.

The two argued, and at one point, Gibert allegedly threw rocks at the victim. He wasn’t hurt, and Gibert was arrested. The state cites multiple reasons for why the case collapsed, including that, “the civilian witness failed to appear for three separate depositions” and that, “due to statements made by the victim during deposition concerning identification and his testimony of the incident in conjunction with the evidence collected by law enforcement…”, they came to Gibert with a plea deal.

On April 15, Judge Andrea Wolfson ruled he should get credit for the year he spent behind bars. The result? No new jail time, and four years’ probation.

Eight days after the deal went into effect, Dos Passos was killed.

A vigil was held for Dos Passos at Pridelines in Miami Beach on April 25.

“We had no idea she connected with you guys. It gave me so much peace that she had a community,” Ana Van Gilst, Dos Passos’ mother, told those who were gathered at the vigil last month. “You don’t expect something…It’s like things you see in the movies, you don’t expect this to happen to you.”