Major update in mystery death of social worker found dead in cab as cops issue urgent warning
THE death of a social worker whose body was mysteriously found in a cab could be linked to a robbery ring that drugs victims, it's claimed.
Julio Ramirez, 25, met up with a friend in New York City's Hell's Kitchen neighborhood on April 20 - but was discovered dead just hours later.
He was last seen getting in a taxi outside a popular gay club, and law enforcement sources fear his death may be tied to a robbery ring.
One told : "It appears to be a pattern.
"There’s a group going around.”
According to the source, the ring had been targeting people in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood who had been drinking - with one member posing as a cab driver.
Read more from NYC
The source said victims typically gets into the taxi before being coerced into handing over their bank details.
"This is the first case where somebody died," the source added.
Within days of Julio being found dead, more than $20,000 has been drained from his accounts.
According to another source, homicide detectives are investigating despite no determination given on the cause of death yet.
Most read in The Sun
Security footage, taken in the early hours of April 21, showed Julio walking away from the Ritz Bar and Lounge, a gay dance club, with three unknown men, his older brother Carlos Ramirez told .
However, about three miles away from the venue and nearly one hour later, Julio was unresponsive and alone in the backseat of the vehicle.
The taxi driver called cops for help at 4.10am in Manhattan's Lower East Side, but the 25-year-old was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital at 4.49am, police sources said.
Julio's phone and wallet were missing at the time of his death.
Mysteriously, on April 25, Carlos noticed a changed Apple iCloud password and strange money transfers in his brother's emails.
Carlos told NBC News: "They had literally taken every dollar that he had, all his savings and all of his money."
Read More On The Sun
He estimated approximately $20,000 was taken from his brother through apps like Apple Pay and Zelle, although the NYPD did not confirm this claim to the news outlet.
People gathered in Times Square Wednesday night to call attention to Ramirez's death.
