A trans woman has been killed in Russas, Brazil.

Paola Oliveira, 30, was found dead on the side of the BR-116, Brazil’s most important highway, on Monday (30 January).

Some Brazilian media also refer to Oliveira by her dead name, which she reportedly was still registered under.

Her body showed signs of violence. Police say it points to Oliveira being beaten to death.

Next to her, police found a piece of wood, which may have been used in the murder.

Oliveira’s head was worst affected and it is currently assumed she suffered a brain injury which lead to her death.

No suspect has been arrested, and police have not released any more details.

Last week, Brazilian LGBTI organization Gay Group of Bahia (GGB) released a report saying one LGBTI person was killed every 25 hours.

That makes for 343 registered deaths linked to homo-, trans- or biphobic crimes in the last year.

Their survey said trans people were the second-most endangered group, after gay men.

GGB said they knew of 144 trans people being killed in 2016, although the real number is likely to be higher.

In the first month of 2017, at least 25 LGBTI people been killed in Brazil.