Gay Today: World

Gay & Black West Virginian,
26, Brutally Murdered

Compiled By GayToday

Grant Town, West Virginia--“It has all the earmarks of a hate crime," said Human Rights Campaign spokeswoman Liz Seaton while discussing the July 4 murder of 26-year old Arthur Carl "J.R." Warren, Jr. "There was incredible brutality in the beating... that kind of level of viciousness is what we often see in hate crimes.”

Warren perished, reportedly, at the hands of three teenagers ( aged 17,17, and 16) who attempted to make his death look like a hit and run. After brutally beating him to death, the killers ran over his body several times and then dumped it by the roadside.

Marion County Sheriff Ron Watkins said that the accused had confessed and that they would likely face murder and conspiracy charges Thursday when they're scheduled to appear in court. At that time it will be determined whether they will be tried as juveniles or as adults.

West Virginia's legislators voted recently to exclude hate crime protections that would have covered gay bias crimes. Sheriff Watkins denies the existence in the Warren case of any evidence of a hate crime.

"In none of the statements that I received, no one that I've talked to thereafter has ever indicated to me that its cause was sexuality or the color of his skin," Watkins told reporters. "Until I receive that evidence, I can't very well say it was a hate crime."

Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign, balked at Watkins' statement. "To rule out bias motivation based on his sexual orientation or race seems premature at best," she said, "and irresponsible at worst."

Related Stories from the GayToday Archive:
Billy Jack's Killer: "God Told Me to Confess!"

Beheading: A Grisly Murder in Virginia

Three More Youths Perceived as Gay Are Dead!

Related Sites:
Anti-Violence Project

GayToday does not endorse related sites.

J.R.Warren's parents ordered that their son have an open casket funeral so that others could see what had been done to him. Mourners described the late young man's appearance as “hideous.” Screaming and sobs engulfed the Mount Beulah Baptist Church, according to reports.

Warren had previously told friends and relatives of how he'd often been harassed for being different in this rural enclave, population 700.