A man has been jailed for life for st@bbing a transgender actress and model to death in the South Caucasus country of Georgia last year.
Beka Jaiani, 26, was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murdering Kesaria Abramidze, 37 on September 18, 2024.
Abramidze was stabbed in the neck more than 50 times in the horrific attack, which took place in her own home in the capital Tbilisi.
Jaiani had partially admitted guilt but rejected accusations of particular cruelty or that there were gender-based motives for his actions.
He was not in the Tbilisi courtroom for the verdict, saying his psychological and emotional state prevented his being there, but added he regretted his actions.
His lawyer, Giorgi Mdinaradze, denounced the verdict as ‘based solely on moral considerations rather than moral grounds,’ and said he would appeal the conviction.
According to local media reports, Jaiani and Abramidze were in a relationship for about two years and fought a lot before the killing in September 2024.
CCTV footage captured on the day of the horrific murder showed Jaiani waiting by a lift in Abramidze’s apartment block and then running down the stairs in the same building less than 10 minutes later.
Neighbours heard screams and went to her apartment where they found her blood-drenched body.
The victim was a well-known and popular figure in Georgia after undergoing gender reassignment surgery in 2014. She represented Georgia at Miss Trans Star International in 2018 and had more than half a million online followers.
Her killing is the third high-profile murder of a transgender woman in Georgia in recent years.
The murder of Abramidze came a day after parliament in the Eastern European state passed a law banning LGBTQ+ propaganda, with her death sparking widespread outrage.
