Get the support you need. [56], On September 12, after a week of deliberation, the jury announced its verdicts. Deputy District Attorney Chris Lamiero announced he will seek a second trial. Araujo was killed at a house party 14 years ago . "[59], Michael Magidson and Jos Merl were sentenced in January to 15 years to life in prison, for second-degree murder. Gwen Araujo was beaten to death by a group of men, two of them ex-lovers of hers, when they found out she used to be a he. During the trial, the defense maintained that Araujo deceived the men into non-consensual sex by not revealing her biological gender and that the men reacted out of rage when they killed her. She and Guerrero shared a deep love for the city for that reason, and in the year leading up to her murder, Gwen came to the city almost every weekend. Araujo surprised her with a strong blow during the fight, and Brown said the men "were tripping, because she was smaller than me and just as strong. On the evening of October 3rd, she attended a house party with a number of other people, including Jaron Nabors, Michael Madison, Paul Merel, and his brother Jose Merel. Questions, comments or concerns about this article may be sent to [emailprotected]. July 4, 1999 At age 14, Eddie tells his mom. Araujo's mom reports her missing to police. [30], Magidson testified that it was instead Nabors who strangled her and struck her with the shovel,[32] and Cazares testified that he never struck her and did not see her die. The jury deadlocked 9-3 in favor of also convicting Jason Cazares. Guerrero remembers Araujo telling her, "I don't feel like a boy. Michael Magidson told a parole board on Wednesday that he wasnt ready for release. In 2014, that law was strengthened by Gov. [7] Rumors reached her family that a girl who had been outed as transgender at a party had been killed and buried in Tahoe,[7] and her aunt called the police on October 9 to pass on the story. After several encounters, the men grew suspicious about why she wouldn't let the men touch her parts of her body. At an early age, he started putting on his mom's makeup and wearing his mom's clothes. A psychologist called by the defense tells the jury that a young man is likely to panic and overreact with violence if he finds out that a woman he was sexually intimate with turns out to be biologically male. He took the stand Thursday afternoon -- his 21st birthday -- and described how, the first night he met Araujo that summer, he had gotten the "crazy idea" she might have been a man. Momsespecially momsif they knew the factsyou'd be surprised. In court, two of the men who strangled, beat and buried the trans teenager claimed gay panic.. At first, she didn't know how to talk about it. "My first impression of her was that she wasn't shy at all," Nabors said. I have a family. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act. History of transgender people in the United States, History of violence against LGBT people in the United States, List of people killed for being transgender, "Two Guilty of Murder in Death of a Transgender Teenager", "Trying to Understand Eddie's Life and Death", "Slain Newark teen balanced between two worlds", "Case of slain transgender teen could go to a jury this week", "HAYWARD / Suspect's brother says he tried to aid Araujo / He testifies others blocked him from rescuing victim", "HAYWARD / Defense calls transgender victim guilty of 'deception and betrayal', "HAYWARD / Defense grills star witness in teen murder trial / 'You're lying,' lawyer says to man who pleaded guilty", "Guilty plea in transgender killing / Defendant makes deal, testifies against friends", "3 Are Charged In Death of Man Who Dressed Like a Woman", "One year since transgender teen's death / Gwen Araujo's family still struggling to cope", "HAYWARD / Witness tells of friends' anger at being duped / He says 2 were mad their sex partner was biologically male", "Witness tells how she learned transgender teen was male", "Slain teen's last night recounted / Witness testifies on events leading to killing of transgender youth", "HAYWARD / Transgender teen did nothing 'to deserve death' / But 1 accused killer said he vomited on finding she was male", "Man Testifies on His Role in Teen's Death", "Witness details slaying of transgender teenager", "Three sentenced to prison in Araujo slaying", "Attack Witnesses Unlikely to Face Criminal Charges", "11 years for defendant in Araujo killing", "Chilling time line of a killing / Death of transgender teen described in grisly detail", "Defendant says prosecution witness admitted killing Araujo", "3 Charged in Beating Death of Boy, 17, Who Lived as a Girl", "Man Pleads Not Guilty in Slaying of Transgender Bay Area Teenager", "Fourth Arrest Made in Transgender Killing", "Fourth Person Sought in Slaying Inquiry Is Found", "Accused: Araujo bargained for escape Preliminary hearing in death of transgender teen to end today (subscription needed)", "Defense attorney: Witness struck Gwen's fatal blow (subscription required)", "Slaying Victim's Mother Now Speaks Out Against Hate Crime", "Witness Unable to Testify About Transgender Teen's Slaying", "Accused killer was 'disgusted' that transgender teen was male", "NEWARK / Teen's death a crime of passion, defense says", "Final defendant testifies in Araujo murder trial", "Newark Transgender Teen Murder Verdicts Upheld", "2 Convicted of Murdering Transgender Teen", "HAYWARD / Manslaughter ruled out, Araujo juror says / 'Events devolved into brutal beating and homicide', "HAYWARD / Araujo case draws to close / Last defendant pleads no contest to avoid third trial", "Gwen Araujo murder 14 years later: Transgender teen's killers face parole", "Cazares plea brings Araujo trial to close", "Man Given 11 Years in Gwen Araujo's Death", "Mourners Overflow Funeral of Teen Allegedly Slain Over Sexual Identity", "Longtime trans activist says goodbye to TransVision", "SAN FRANCISCO / Transgender community feels joy, anger at Araujo verdict", "Fests go in for a piece of the action: Cinequest to distribute 'Ways of Men', "Ten years later, Araujo's murder resonates", "An act to amend Section 192 of the Penal Code, relating to manslaughter", "California Bans Gay and Trans Panic Defense", "Assemblymember Bonilla and Equality California Introduce Bill to Ban "Panic Defense" Strategy as a Courtroom Tactic by Murder Defendants", "Online Extra: Parole denied for killer of Bay Area transgender teen", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murder_of_Gwen_Araujo&oldid=1133311118, American victims of anti-LGBT hate crimes, Deaths by strangulation in the United States, Articles with dead external links from September 2010, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using embedded infobox templates with the title parameter, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. He is expected to resume testimony Monday. Araujo attended a party at the house Jos Merl shared with his younger brother, Manny, and his older brother Paul, who also had previously engaged in sexual acts with Gwen. This is a carousel. [75], In September 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill No. The jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of acquitting Cazares and Merel of first-degree murder. Gwen Araujo's murder brought about several changes in California law. Arnold Schwarzenegger signs the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act. At age 14, Araujo sat down with her mom for a heart-to-heart talk. Loving son to Sylvia Guerrero of Newark and Edward Araujo of Brawley. But the murder of Gwen Araujo is still important today. Nabors and Cazares urged the others to "knock the b out", according to Nabors's testimony. The men would later claim during the tr. Araujo was born with male genitalia but her immediate family noticed early on. Through this fund, Sylvia Guerrero and her family spoke in middle and high schools about transgender awareness and understanding. Jaron Nabors pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter and agrees to testify against his three friends in exchange for an 11 year prison term. a GoFundMe page that raises donations on her behalf. Today shes an admired activist for transgender causes, even though the horror of Gwens fate has upended her life. What Araujo did not know was that these four had already suspected that she was trans, and . The presiding judge issued a gag order barring attorney from talking to the media. "My mom is stuck in her own grief," said Sunseri, who fought back tears about the impact Araujo's murder had on her mother. [8][13] According to Merl, Magidson said he was not sure she was dead until they struck her with a shovel. The four defendants in the murder of Gwen Araujo are being sentenced to prison on January 27, 2006. Her mother recalls they both cried a lot that night but she eventually told her daughter she would support her transition. She says she receives emails from all over the world. But her murder is still important today. For the uninitiated, Araujo was a 17-year-old trans woman from Newark, California. Nabors said Cazares and Magidson had first brought Araujo, whom the group knew as an attractive 19-year-old named "Lida," to the Merel home in late August or early September 2002. The 17-year-old from the San Francisco Bay Area was punched, beaten and eventually strangled to death when several men discovered she was a transgender woman. He pleaded to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Watch the ABC7 Originals documentary, "Being Gwen: A Life and Death Story," streaming now in the video player below. On October 4, 2002, four young men brutally murdered a beautiful, 17-year-old transgender teenager named Gwen Araujo. Stuff like that. By this time, Araujo's mother was able to legally change her daughter's name to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo. Her hair is dyed black and falls flat against her back. Later, when asked why he hadn't done something more to push Araujo out of the doorway, Emmanuel Merel answered, "I gave in. Brown grabbed Araujo's crotch during a confrontation in the bathroom and revealed she had male genitalia. [11] The night they met Araujo, she flirted with all four men and they smoked marijuana together. She transferred to an alternative high school, but did not return for the 200203 academic year. Feb. 24, 1985At age 14, Eddie tells his mom that he feels like a girl trapped in a boy's body. Araujo also became an inspiration in the transgender community. Sylvia Guerrero said that she wants attorneys to refer to her daughter as Gwen when the case is retried. It's who she was. With credit for time served, he was expected to spend approximately five years in jail from that point on. Loving son to Sylvia Guerrero of Newark and Edward Araujo of Brawley. Many have since forgotten Gwen. Nabors later testified that Jos Merl said that night, "I swear, if it's a f man, I'm gonna kill him. Feb. 24, 1985At age 14, Eddie tells his mom that he feels like a girl trapped in a boy's body. Now, I express how I feel like she did.. She walked into the house with Years later, Jerry Brown signed legislation as governor that banned the defense strategy altogether. His first parole board hearing had just gotten underway in Chowchilla on Wednesday when he told the parole board he needed more self-help, including drug and alcohol treatment. When Gwen was 8, Guerrero stopped her daughter as she was getting out of the car for school and asked her if she knew she was a boy. Morbidology Podcast The article continues below Morbidology is a weekly true crime podcast created and hosted by Emily G. Thompson. Analysts compared the strategy to the "gay panic" defense. ABC7 New York 24/7 Eyewitness News Stream. Merl and Magidson were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Guerrero became an advocate for transgender rights. [15][29] Brown recalled that after she had left with Paul Merl, they drove around the block and returned to the house to see Nabors and Cazares leaving in Magidson's truck. The law, signed by Gov. Guerrero sees her daughters legacy firsthand each time the Lifetime movie, A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Storyairs. Under cross-examination, Emmanuel Merel said he had gone to the police two weeks after the slaying because police had wrongly arrested Paul Merel for the crime. Jerry Brown. [80], Jason Cazares was released from prison in July 2012. [6] "[22], The party-goers did not report the crime and the assailants said nothing to anyone about the murder. Sylvia Guerrero had never even heard the word transgender until her 17-year-olddaughter Gwen Araujo, born a son named Eddie, was brutally murdered. "The first time I saw makeup smeared, I was yelling, 'What's wrong with you?'" Did the men REALLY not know the truth about Gwen? The San Francisco Standard. [65][66], At the request of Guerrero, a judge posthumously changed the victim's legal name to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo on June 23, 2004. I love children. A shrine to Gwen Araujo, who was murdered at age 17 in 2002 by four men who discovered she was transgender, rests in her mother's home in Tracy, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. All Rights Reserved. All Access Digital offer for just 99 cents! Investigators got Nabors' friend to wear a wire and record Nabors talking about the murder. NEWARK, Calif., -- The murder of Gwen Araujo in 2002 marked a turning point in the fight for transgender rights. Guerrero foughtthe possible parole of Magidson but supported parole for Merel, while other family members want neither paroled. 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I cant tell youhow many people have told me, because of your daughter, I am free to be who I am.. Jaron Nabors was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Eddie then began transitioning as a woman and called herself Gwen, after her favorite singer Gwen Stefani.According to court testimony, Araujo, whom the men knew a Lida, engaged in sexual . "[20] Brown said the four men were out at a club together and did not return to the house until after midnight. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. On the night of Oct. 3, 2002, Araujo attended a party at a house rented by Jos and Paul Merl. Charges against Paul Merel were dropped the following day. People are going to be hard on you, and its not going to be easy. The Civic Remembrance and call to action for Gwen Araujo will be held Tuesday, Oct. 4, from 4-6 p.m. at San Francisco Main Librarys Koret Auditorium. [75][76][77] The law put California on record as declaring it contrary to public policy for defendants to be acquitted or convicted of a lesser included offense on the basis of appeals to "societal bias". Her depression, anxiety and PTSD are so debilitating, Guerrero hasnt been able to find a full-time job. As a young boy, Eddie Araujo always felt like he was different in a way. It instructed jurors not to let bias against a victim's gender identity or sexual orientation influence their decisions. [15], During the February 2003 indictment proceedings, Nabors gave a detailed account of the murder and burial. Dropped the following day legacy firsthand each time the Lifetime movie, a Girl like:. Different in a way Araujo attended a party at a house rented by Jos and Paul.. Guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to prison on January 27, 2006 article may be to. Really not know was that these four had already suspected that she wants attorneys to to. 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Emailprotected ] questions, comments or concerns about this article may be sent to [ emailprotected..

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