Wed. June 23, 2004
Seattle, WA -
A judge yesterday declared a mistrial in the 2002 killing of Gwen Araujo (born Edward), a transgender teenager who was brutally beaten to death, then buried in the Sierra foothills after partygoers discovered that their woman friend was transgendered.
Judge Harry Sheppard declared the jury "hopelessly deadlocked" after the jury foreman told him the panel of eight men and four women have been "unable to pass over the point of reasonable doubt. In my personal opinion, further deliberations would not yield a verdict."
As they were not able to acquit the three men of first-degree murder, the judge would not let them consider whether the men were guilty of the lesser charges of second-degree murder or manslaughter.
The panel had deliberated for ten days before giving up on reaching a decision. The 24-year old defendants, Jason Cazares, Michael Magidson and Jose Merel, could have faced 25 years to life in prison if convicted.
In the case of Cazares and Merel, the jury was 10-2 against a first-degree murder. In Magidson's case, the jury had voted 7-5 in favor of a first-degree murder.
Judge Sheppard set a hearing for July 30 to schedule a new trial date.
After the jury decision, Araujo's uncle David Guerrero said he more fully realized "the ignorance in society that transgenders have to face." He and the family were angered at having to sit through days of testimony "tearing Gwen down."
"Words cannot express how distressed we are at hearing this - especially for the family [of Araujo]" Vanessa Edwards Foster, chair of the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition (NTAC) said upon hearing the news. She noted the family was quite upset, wondering how they can stomach another grueling round of testimony. "It's not an acquittal, but it's a disappointing conclusion nevertheless."
"I was stunned - I don't know what to feel," said Imelda Guerrero, the aunt closest to the victim. She noted that Gwen's mother, Sylvia Guerrero was "extremely" affected by the mistrial. "She's experiencing every emotion there is. She's very upset about having to go through [the trial] again."
Guerrero added that Sylvia is being sequestered due to her emotional state. "She's pretty much in solitary right now."
While the prosecutor urged jurors to view Araujo's death as a cold-blooded murder, defense attorneys contended that the crime was fueled by a passionate rage and should have been considered manslaughter.
Jason Cazares' defense attorney, Tony Serra, said he was disappointed that the jury was hung on the first-degree charge. "I think they made their judgment based on emotion," said Serra, expressing his frustration that only one or two jurors held up the process.
Gwen Smith, founder of Remembering Our Dead, said, "the defense lawyers know how to sell snake oil. I find it sad that the jury found themselves taken in."
Defense attorneys for Magidson and Merel argued the killing was not murder, because of a modified gay-panic strategy based upon Araujo's biological male status.
The defense also attacked Nabors' credibility, arguing that he lied to get a voluntary manslaughter plea bargain. Cazares testified in his own defense that he tried to help Araujo, and was outside smoking a cigarette when the killing occurred.
Nabors' pretrial statements noted that Cazares emerged from the garage saying "she's dead," and reported he had hit Araujo in the head with a shovel, as she lay prone on the bed of the pickup truck.
Deputy District Attorney Chris Lamiero rejected the defense claims. During his closing argument, Lamiero described the crime as a calculated murder. He said the defendants killed Araujo because of their own weaknesses, pointing out that Merel's brother, Paul, also had sex with Araujo but walked away from the murder scene that night.
Araujo, the 17-year-old victim, was killed at a party in the early morning hours of Oct. 3, 2002 after the defendants beat her, bludgeoned her with a can, frying pans and a shovel, and strangled her to death upon discovering she was biologically male.
At some point before the fateful night, the defendants debated Araujo's biological gender, even mulling over "a Tony Soprano-style hit" if she was confirmed to be male. Upon discovering her true gender status, the defendants killed Araujo and drove 150 miles to bury the body in the El Dorado National Forest.
After the four-hour trip, Nabors said, the defendants went to McDonald's for breakfast.
NTAC urges the District Attorney to press for a retrial to be held as soon as practicable.
"We've all come to a consensus and we're going to do [another trial], no matter how long it takes," said Imelda Guerrero, who is also a member of NTAC. She resolutely added, "It's just something we have to do."
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