Gay Today | Gay News, current events, entertainment, stories and features

Deaf/ Gay Student Murdered at Gallaudet University

Eric Plunkett, 19, Found Fatally Beaten in his Room

Teen was Secretary for the School's Lambda Society

Compiled By GayToday

Eric Plunkett

Washington, D.C.�Nearly fifteen detectives are currently said to be investigating the beating death of 19-year-old Eric Franklin Plunkett, an openly gay freshman student at the famed school for the deaf, Gallaudet University.

Although a murder weapon has been found, police will not reveal what it was that killed Plunkett, whose body was discovered Thursday with head and neck injuries after he was reported missing.

No one is sure precisely how long he'd been dead before being discovered. an investigator Simply said that it had been "quite some time."

Plunkett, who had just entered his freshman year, had recently been elected secretary of Gallaudet's Lambda Society.

No suspects and no motives have been revealed.

Plunkett's fellow-students gathered over the weekend in clusters near the freshman dorm where Eric Plunkett resided. Dismay, sadness and fear that the murderer might be still among them were reflected in their communications, according to local reports.

Plunketts' friends and associates in his home state of Minnesota, recalled him as one who'd worked indefatigably to overcome immense adversities, including cerebral palsy. He'd defied all stereotypes held about those who are hard of hearing, managing both football and basketball teams at the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf.

Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:

1 Dead, Six Wounded in a Roanoke, Virginia Gay Bar

Gay & Black West Virginian, 26, Brutally Murdered

GayToday Hate Crimes Series

Related Sites:
The Washington Post

GayToday does not endorse related sites.

Graduating from 12th grade, he'd been the recipient of a great variety of awards.

At Gallaudet, Eric Plunkett wasted no time before joining the Lambda Society, the university club hosting gatherings for both gay and straight students.

Thomas Green, the Lambda Society president, told The Washington Post that Plunkett had been highly motivated and that he'd hoped to see the group grow. His activities had been a major reason, said Green, that a large crowd had attended Lambda's first meeting of the school year in mid-September.

Plunkett had been excited when he'd received notice in Minnesota of his acceptance at Gallaudet. The 136-year old university, with 2000 students, is world's only institution of higher learning where all programs and services are tailored to deaf and hearing-impaired students.