Matthew Shepherd was not the only hate crime.

Although the death of Matthew Shepard and the community aftereffects have been immortalized on stage in Kaufman’s Laramie Project, as has the murder of trangender Teena Brandon in two powerful films, sadly these young people have not been the first–nor will they be the last–victims of senseless violence and hatred against sexual orientation.

As a web sidebar to The Laramie Project, we have compiled descriptions of four recent hate crimes, two occurring in Houston last year. These killings probably will never be dramatized nor carry the emotional weight that overlay Shepard and Brandon’s deaths, but every victim needs to be commemorated if only to keep us vigilant, wary, and angry enough to continue the fight for change and social equality. –David Groover
 

Moment: Cortez, Colorado, July 2001

Gay teenager, 16-year-old high school freshman Fred Martinez Jr., half Navajo, was all keyed up to attend the carnival at the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo. Everybody liked Fred, outgoing and popular. Openly gay, he often wore makeup and women’s clothes to school. Sometimes he carried a purse. Everyone knew Fred. But he never made it to the carnival. His bludgeoned, decomposed body was discovered by the side of the road five days after he left home. Three weeks later, 18-year-old Shaun Murphy, whose mother is a lesbian, was arrested for the murder after confessing that he "beat up a fag." Murphy’s mother said her son couldn’t have committed an antigay hate crime since he had been raised in a "gay household."

MOMENT: Vancouver, Canada, November 2001

After viewing a fairly hefty Leonid meteor shower, Tim Chisholm drove home through Stanley Park, Vancouver’s spectacular greensward that links the north and south sides of the city. Suddenly, his van’s headlights swept across a naked body sprawled alongside the road. This area of the immense park is known for its "trail hoppers," gay cruisers looking for anonymous park sex. Chisholm stopped his truck and immediately called 911. The operator asked for a description. The arms of the badly beaten man were flung across his face, warding off blows from his attackers. When Chisholm gently unfolded the bruised and bloody arms, he discovered to his horror the wide-eyed stare of his oldest friend, Aaron Webster, whom he had talked to on the phone not less than three hours before. While he frantically administered CPR until the ambulance arrived, his best friend died in his arms. The viciousness of the attack shocked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who called the savage beating Canada’s first gay hate crime.

MOMENT: Houston, March 2001

The body of 29-year-old Francisco Javier Luna is found in a parking lot at 7844 Avenue E in downtown Houston early Sunday morning. Luna, a transvestite in dress and makeup, had multiple gunshot wounds to the face, stomach, and shoulder. Earlier that night, 18-year-old Aurelio Campos picked up Luna for a tryst. During sex he discovered his trick was a man. They argued. Campos fled then returned with his shotgun. Luna’s brown wig was lying next to the body. That night, the GLBT community gathered at City Hall for a candlelight vigil.

MOMENT: Houston, TX, March 2001.

Jon Marsh, 16, and Nathan Mayoral, 14, were best friends. They listened to Metallica together, they watched WWF together, and they’d skip school to make out. They were lovers, but Marsh couldn’t reconcile his overwhelming teenage feelings of "abomination" and depression. After sex one afternoon, Jon got Nathan in a chokehold. He tightened his grip. When he released Nathan, Mayoral staggered and fell, hitting his head on the ground. Marsh beat him with a ceramic plant saucer from the garage. He banged Nathan’s head against the pavement. He stood on his neck and beat his friend’s head with a hammer. He wrapped Nathan’s head in a plastic bag and taped it shut. Binding Mayoral in a sheet, Jon dumped his friend in a remote field. During the police search for the missing boy, Marsh visited Nathan’s parents to express condolence and offer to mow their lawn. When caught, Marsh confessed to the police, "I didn’t want the relationship we had, and I just couldn’t, I just couldn’t be his friend."