Teen Murdered after being discovered as a Transgender

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Thread started 10/28/02 8:51pm

SkletonKee

Teen Murdered after being discovered as a Transgender

(this was started on another thread...to my surpise, many were unaware of this incident...i figured it would be a lil more appropriate to discuss within its own thread)

Newark family rejects 'gay panic' defense
One suspect in slaying of cross-dressing teenager pleads innocent, two others delay pleas
By Robert Airoldi
STAFF WRITER

FREMONT -- One of three suspects pleaded innocent Thursday to the murder of a transgender teen, Eddie "Gwen" Araujo Jr., as a spokeswoman for the victim's family dismissed the legitimacy of a possible "gay panic" defense.
Jaron Chase Nabors, 19, entered his plea at the Fremont Hall of Justice, in front of a throng of local and national media. Jose Antonio Merel, 22, did not enter a plea and Michael William Magidson, 22, is scheduled to return Tuesday to formally hire an attorney. All three will return Nov. 8 for pleas and setting of future court hearings.

Merel and Nabors, both of Newark, and Magidson, of Fremont, are facing murder charges in connection with the beating and strangling of the 17-year-old Newark resident -- who also was known as Lida -- during a Newark party the night of Oct. 3.

The charges carry a hate-crime enhancement because police said Araujo was killed after partygoers discovered he was a male dressed as a woman. Some defense attorneys, in similar cases, have successfully argued that their clients were surprised by an unwanted sexual advance -- a strategy known as gay panic.

"Sylvia (Guerrero, Araujo's mother,) is not inclined to accept any excuses for why her son's life was taken," said Gloria Allred, hired to represent Guerrero, during a press conference outside the courthouse. "(She) is devastated by his death and she is sickened by what are reported to be the so-called reasons for the violent and brutal killing of her child."

Gay panic is a defense strategy in which lawyers suggest defendants committed a crime because they were thrown into a panic by a sexual advance from a person of the same gender.

Attorneys have tried it in several highly publicized cases, including the "Jenny Jones" murder case and the Laramie, Wyo., trial of Aaron McKinney in the murder of Matthew Shepard.

In the Shepard case, the judge barred lawyers from using the gay panic defense, and McKinney was convicted of felony murder. But the strategy has proved successful in other trials.

The day Shepard was found tied to a fence in 1998, a Honolulu jury found Stephen Bright guilty only of a misdemeanor for beating a gay man to death after the man made sexual advances toward Bright.

And in January 2000, a Detroit jury convicted Justin Wallace of manslaughter, rather than murder, for shooting a man he claimed made advances toward him.

Guerrero said she is doing her best to make sense of what happened.

"I want justice for Eddie because this should never have happened, and I never want it to happen to any other child or any other family," she said.

The killing is unforgivable, said Monica Taher, the Western regional media manager for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation.

"The fact they discovered the gender of the person is not a basis to commit this crime," she said, calling the killing "trans-phobia."

Robert Beles, Nabors' attorney, said his client is not guilty of a homicide and is "frightened and feels the overwhelming tragedy of the situation."

"There's not a shred of homophobia in my client's background or in his nature," Beles said.

An anticipated protest outside the court by the Rev. Fred Phelps, the church leader who plans to picket Araujo's funeral today, did not materialize. Phelps also said he plans to picket Newark Memorial High School's production of "The Laramie Project," an account of Shepard's murder.

Araujo's body was found Oct. 16 after Nabors led police to a shallow grave halfway between Pollock Pines and Lake Tahoe, about seven miles south of Highway 50.

Araujo, who died of asphyxia due to strangulation associated with blunt trauma to the head, was discovered in the same clothes he wore to the party -- a black shirt, denim skirt and thongs.

He was punched and dragged into the garage of the Newark home, where he was killed.

A rope was tied around his neck, and he had been hit with a blunt object.

Whatever the eventual outcome, it will not bring Araujo back, Allred said.

"His physical body has been taken from us. However, we believe that Eddie's spirit lives on and we want to make sure that he did not die in vain," she said.

Contributions to the family may be sent to the Eddie Araujo Jr. Memorial Fund at San Benito Bank, 300 Tres Pinos Road, Hollister, CA 95023.

Anyone with information may call police at (510) 790-7237.

kee says:

also of note is this article

Newark teen's family, activists differ on memorials
By Yomi S. Wronge
Mercury News

Photo courtesy of Sylvia Guerrero

Transgendered teenager Eddie Araujo in an undated photograph.

To the family that had come to accept his sexuality, Eddie Araujo was so much more than a transgender teen. Eddie, who sometimes used the name Gwen, was a multidimensional human being -- a great kid, a music lover, a stylish dresser -- cut down in the prime of his life.

That's the story they want told.

To members of the transgender community, the fact that Gwen Araujo was transgender is the story. They feel strongly connected to the 17-year-old who was allegedly killed by three men who found she was not anatomically female.

They want Gwen's story to raise awareness and highlight discrimination.

And therein lies the point of contention in an awkward situation where both family and advocates want Eddie remembered for what they believe he, or she, represents.

``This not a gay issue; this is a human issue,'' said Eddie's mother, Sylvia Guerrero. She and other family members fear that Eddie's story is being used to further political causes.

``Right now,'' said Eddie's uncle, David Guerrero, ``we just want to bury Eddie and focus on bringing those responsible to justice.''

But to a community that has long suffered intolerance, the death is one in a string of violent acts against transgender people, and there is an obligation to speak out.

``If the family doesn't want to be associated with the community we definitely respect their feelings,'' said Rachael Janelle Light, president of Transgender San Francisco, an advocacy group. ``But we must represent that we lost a young sister.''

While Eddie's family plans a private funeral service for later this week, activists from throughout California and the nation are organizing vigils, rallies and protests.

``I'm getting 40 e-mails a day,'' Light said. The Bay Area activist groups ``are bringing in more of their heavier guns. I'm definitely seeing a rallying around.''

The National Transgender Advocacy Coalition estimates there have been 25 killings of transgender people this year, making 2002 the deadliest year on record, according to the group's Web site. There have been 38 such slayings in California since 1990, the Web site states.

``Another one of us is gone,'' said Elaine Rhodes, 47, of San Jose, a pre-operative transsexual who has been living as a woman since January.

Day of remembrance

On Nov. 20, members of the transgender community plan to gather to honor Gwen and all victims in at least 35 locations nationally and internationally during the Day of Remembrance, designed to memorialize victims of murder and bias. From quiet events with a handful of people to candlelight vigils to performance events to art installations, each city finds its own way to make the lives of those killed visible.

On that day there will be special memorials to Gwen at the Billy DeFrank Lesbian and Gay Community Center in San Jose and the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center.

Guerrero said her answering machine stays full with messages of condolence from people throughout the gay community. For that she is both overwhelmed and appreciative, but she prefers the family be left to grieve privately.

This week, the gay Latino community will show its support to the family with a vigil Friday in the Castro district, the heart of San Francisco's gay community. There is a growing altar in memory of Gwen at 18th and Castro streets.

``Unfortunately, when gay, lesbian or transgender persons of color experience violence . . . the media pays little attention,'' said Monica Taher of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, based in Los Angeles. The group recently launched a Spanish-language initiative and has teamed up with two other Latino groups, AGUILAS and Proyecto Contra SIDA Por Vida in San Francisco, to address Eddie's slaying.

Hundreds of people from across the state and the country are expected to descend upon the Bay Area this weekend to pay homage to Gwen with marches and vigils. They also want to be on hand to confront the Rev. Fred Phelps, a fundamentalist preacher from Kansas, who on Tuesday said that he will picket Eddie's funeral -- if he can find out where it is.

``No one is going to scare us back into the closets we came out of,'' said Fremont teen Felicia Avila, 17. She is organizing a march Friday with other high school students.

Identification

``My feeling is the community is not wanting to make a political football out of Gwen,'' said Denis Moore, pastor at Metropolitan Community Church of San Jose. The ministry supports gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. But ``there's a strong sense of identity with her,'' he said. ``They want to lift her up.''

Carolyn Laub, executive director of the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, which oversees 300 clubs at schools throughout California, said that whether or not Eddie's family embraces the attention, their actions support the cause.

``What is inspiring to me is to see a family that loved and accepted their child for who she was,'' Laub said. ``That, in itself, is a political message.''

---
Mercury News Staff Writer Renee Koury contributed to this report. Contact Yomi S. Wronge at ywronge@sjmercury.com or (510) 790-7315.

Natasha	How very Sad. My Condolances go out to the Families. I cannot Believe that HomoPhobia still Exist Today. Please guys if you are Dressing as a woman please make sure you Tell the one you are with. Don't keep any Crying Game Surprises because this kind of thing happens Way Too Often.
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garganta	This is so sad. But what really got me mad though reading the article is the fact that that horrible Rev. Phelps is planning to picket the boy´s funeral. What a mean, horrible, despicable son a bitch!!!
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endorphin74	Wow..this is just horrible... My heart goes out to this family. The 'gay panic' defense is the sillies thing I've ever heard.. Tom- you hit it right on the head, can you imagine how many straight men would be killed daily if women could kill them for unwanted advances?? It makes me sad that in this day there is still so much ignorance in the world...
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Natasha	I was thinking of a movie awhile ago which I mentioned,but forgot the title, "Paris Is Burning." One of the characters in it was also killed because of this kind of thing. How about the JOHN Dahlia/ DELIA case from a Long time ago? Except both his Male Lover and a Woman {Robyn}from Scarsdale were Accused of his killing. [This message was edited Wed Oct 30 13:47:11 PST 2002 by Natasha]
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