Roommate charged in killing of LGBTQ advocate Jorge Diaz-Johnston

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – The roommate of a Tallahassee man whose body was discovered in a Jackson County landfill in January is charged with his murder.

State attorney Jack Campbell announced Thursday the indictment of Steven Yinger, 36, on first degree murder charges in the death of Jorge Diaz-Johnston. The indictment says Yinger strangled Diaz-Johnston sometime between January 3 and January 5. Diaz-Johnston was living at an apartment with Steven Yinger, according to court documents. Yinger is also charged with tampering with evidence, theft of Diaz-Johnston’s car, and identify theft.

Diaz-Johnston’s body was found in a Jackson County landfill on January 8. It’s believed his body ended up at the Campbellton-area landfill after being picked up from a public garbage site in Okaloosa County.

A missing person flyer issued by the Tallahassee Police Department said Diaz-Johnston was last seen on Remington Green Circle five days before his body was discovered.

Diaz-Johnston was a well-known figure in the LGBTQ community. According to Equality Florida, Johnston and his husband Don were integral in overturning a gay marriage ban in Florida in 2015.