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Murdered Soldier's Killer Says He Used Baseball Bat

Army Refuses Comment on Sex-Related Hate Motive

Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Issues Reports

Compiled By GayToday

Prf. Barry Winchell

Fort Campbell, Kentucky--During the early morning hours of July 5, at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Pfc. Barry Winchell, 21, of the 502nd Infantry Regiment's 2nd Battalion was bludgeoned to death with a baseball bat, according to an admission made Monday by one of his killers, Pfc. Calvin N. Glover.

A pianist and former Boy Scout, Pfc. Winchell had taken up welding before joining the Army to become a decorated helicopter pilot, whose friends called him Top Gun.

Pfc. Glover's barracks mate, 25-year old Spec. Justin Fisher of Lincoln, Nebraska, has also been charged in Winchell's killing.

Serious concerns have been raised about the likelihood the alleged murder was an anti-gay hate crime. Some soldiers, according to the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, fear to come forward to tell what they know because of "Don't ask, Don't tell" regulations.

Pfc. Ryan Futch, who guarded Pfc. Glover after he'd been jailed, and who served in his unit, testified that during that time he heard Glover express prejudices against blacks and homosexuals.

Both Army officials and the dead soldier's relatives are remaining mum about his sexuality. Lawyers for the defense are already arguing that sexual orientation had nothing to do with what happened.

Close observers of U.S. military maneuvers, however, noted how in previous instances wherein gay servicemembers have been killed, military brass have tried to hide the killer's anti-gay hate motivations.

The case of Seaman Allen R. Schindler, beaten to death by shipmates in 1992, provided a clear-cut instance of such official cover-ups.

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Soldiers who knew Pfc. Barry Winchell, however, indicate that there was, indeed, talk that he was gay.

This may have been fueled by his visit to one of Nashville's gay bars, The Connection, where he met Calpernia Addams, a female impersonator with whom he had become involved.

According to Addams' account of the first time they met, Spec. Justin Fisher and Pfc. Winchell got into a disagreement over who would date him. Though nothing happened between Winchell and Addams that first night, they made plans to meet the next day. Addams did not know Pfc. Glover and consequently has said nothing about him.

Fisher never returned to The Connection. Winchell is said to have told Addams, that it was because of his jealousy.

Addams told reporters that Winchell had just begun to feel comfortable in an all-gay surrounding. Their affair, reportedly, had begun four months ago.

Army spokespersons indicated that they are still undecided as to how to proceed in this case. There has been talk of a Court Marshal.

In late July a memorial service for Pfc. Winchell was held by Nashville's LGBT community.