Neither the police nor the medical examiner has indicated Julio Ramirez ingested GHB prior to his death. In recent years, health officials have seen a rise in GHB use among young Americans. He said the men have not been identified.īased on the limited information they’ve pieced together, Carlos Ramirez and at least one of his brother’s friends, Karinina Quimpo, speculated that Julio Ramirez may have been slipped gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB, also known as the “date rape drug.” In liquid form, it is clear and colorless, and just a small amount can bring someone to unconsciousness overdoses can lead to coma, respiratory arrest and even cause death.
“All three men end up in a cab with Julio,” Carlos Ramirez said investigators told him. He is then seen walking away from the bar with two men, and as they turn the corner, a third man follows behind them. Given these details, and the information investigators shared with him based on surveillance footage, Carlos Ramirez said he believes his brother may have been drugged and robbed that night in a targeted attack.Ĭarlos Ramirez - who did not see the footage himself - said investigators told him the video shows his brother standing outside of the Ritz Bar and Lounge entrance by himself for 12 minutes shortly after 3 a.m. He said he shared this information with investigators, though the NYPD would not confirm this detail to NBC News. “They had literally taken every dollar that he had, all his savings and all of his money,” Carlos Ramirez said, adding that approximately $20,000 was taken from his brother. He said that’s when he noticed unusual money transfers.īetween April 21, the day Julio Ramirez died, and April 25, his checking and savings accounts were depleted through purchases and third-party applications like Apple Pay and Zelle, Carlos Ramirez said.
He was, however, able to access Julio Ramirez’s emails.
He immediately noticed the Apple iCloud password had been changed, leaving him unable to access most of the applications on his brother’s computer. Eager for answers, Carlos Ramirez logged on to his brother’s laptop. Three days later, the Ramirez family went to Julio Ramirez’s apartment to collect some of his personal belongings. Image: Julio Ramirez, left with his parents and brother. “Even if he lost his phone, he would text me on his iPad, so I knew something was up.”Ĭampbell’s last text to Ramirez was on April 22 at 8:06 a.m.: “Ramirez, did something happen?” She would soon discover that he had been pronounced dead more than 24 hours earlier. “Julio never lets his phone die,” she said. Her concern turned to alarm when she noticed the color of the text messages she sent him turned from blue to green, which can indicate his phone had been turned off or had died. She continued to text Ramirez throughout the day on April 21 asking where he was and whether he was OK. on April 21 an alert popped up saying, “Julio Ramirez stopped sharing location with you.”
They had done so for the past several years, so Campbell said she became concerned when at 3:46 a.m. (Courtesy Shiva Campbell)Ĭampbell said she and Ramirez had remained close after meeting as college freshmen, and, like many young friends, they used the location sharing feature on their iPhones.