Two people have been indicted over the death Cecilia Gentili

Two suspects have been arrested and indicted over the death of trans trailblazer and Pose star Cecilia Gentili. The indictment, which publicly reveals Gentili’s cause of death for the first time, charges the men with distributing fentanyl-laced heroin among other offenses.

“Cecilia Gentili, a prominent activist and leader of the New York transgender community was tragically poisoned in her Brooklyn home from fentanyl-laced heroin,” state attorney Breon Peace stated in a DEA press release. “Today, the alleged perpetrators who sold the deadly dose of drugs to Gentili have been arrested.

“Fentanyl is a public health crisis. Our Office will spare no effort in the pursuit of justice for the many New Yorkers who have lost loved ones due to this lethal drug.”

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According to the press release, officers responded to a 911 call from Gentili’s partner on February 6. Arriving at her home, they found that Gentili had already died from “the combined effect of fentanyl, heroin, xylazine, and cocaine.” She was 52.

Using text messages and cell data, they traced the drugs to Michael Kuilan and Antonio Venti. Kulian allegedly supplied the drugs while Venti sold them to Gentili the day before her death. Both are charged with four counts of drug-related offenses and face life in prison if convicted.

The announcement of Gentili’s death inspired heartfelt tributes from the trans and NYC community. Gentili dedicated her life to advocacy for the rights of trans people, sex workers and the incarcerated. She was the policy director at GMHC (formerly Gay Men’s Health Crisis), and founded the first free clinic for sex workers on the East Coast, the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.

Gentili was also an accomplished artist. In addition to playing Miss Orlando in Pose, she authored the 2022 memoir Faltas: Letters to Everyone in My Hometown Who Isn’t My Rapist, which she adapted to the off-Broadway show Red Ink.

Although her funeral at the iconic St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York caused a scandal in the Archdiocese, it drew over 1,400 mourners celebrating her life. Her family responded to the controversy saying, “We bestow sainthood upon Cecilia, for her life’s work, for how she ministered, mothered, and loved all people regardless of HIV, immigration, or employment status.