Coda: McGhee gets 22 to life in murder of Edgar Garzon

Today at the State Supreme Court in Queens, John L. McGhee was given a sentence of 22 years to life in prison in the 2001 murder of 35 year old Edgar Garzon, closing a painful chapter for his friends and family.

Above, photos from Eddie's life including his baptism (above left); his loving family (just below); Eddie as a child standing next to his mother Leonor (above right); and with the Colombian Lesbian and Gay Association crew (several photos at the bottom) hoisting a huge coffee bag with the yellow blue and red colors of the Colombian flag and dancing up a storm down the 5th Avenue Heritage of Pride Parade dressed in the coffee cup costumes he designed for the parade [click on image to make it larger].

An online article by Duncan Osborne posted late today at Gay City News reports that Leonor Garzon, Eddie's mom, addressed McGhee with the help of a translator:

"There is a deep wound in our hearts that will never heal; as you see Mr. McGhee, you have taken us from living a good life... Today, our companions are sadness and loneliness."

McGhee, to the end, maintained his innocence:

"I did not commit this crime," he said. "By locking me away for the rest of my life and leaving the real criminal out there, that may feel good, but that's not justice."

A jury has decided otherwise.

• Full story at "Edgar Garzon's murderer sentenced to at least 22 years".

Previously:
* September 11, 2008: McGhee guilty of 2nd degree murder in killing of Edgar Garzon
* July 17, 2008: Key witness vanishes as 2nd Eddie Garzon murder trial approaches
* September 5, 2007: Last night's vigil...
* September 2, 2007: Six years since the murder of Eddie Garzon...
* July 25, 2007: Judge Declares Mistrial in Eddie Garzon murder case
* July 13, 2007: Trial Begins in the Slaying of Edgar Garzon
* February 8, 2007: Michael J. Sandy and Edgar Garzon pre-trial hearings underway
* October 18, 2006: A Pansy for Edgar Garzon
* September 5, 2006: 5th Annual Memorial Mass and Vigil in honor of Eddie Garzon
* July 7, 2006: Gay City News on Eddie Garzon
* July 1, 2006: Armando Garzon talks to El Diario La Prensa
* June 30, 2006: New York Times: Stepping off plane, man is arrested in '01 murder
* Part 1: The Attack
* Part 2: COLEGA and Eddie Garzon
* Part 3: So what is, exactly, is a 'hate crime'? (and a prayer)
* Part 4: Eddie Garzon passes on
* Part 5: The Vigil
* Part 6: A Newsday Editorial
* Part 7: A parade of angels
* Part 8: Epilogue

Breaking News: McGhee guilty of 2nd degree murder in killing of Edgar Garzon

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Eddie Garzon. I'm not sure when the 35mm picture above was taken but it looks like the New York City harbor and it must have been close to the time at which the young Colombian man decided to move to the United States to seek new opportunities.

Of course, Eddie is no longer with us. On August 15th, 2001, as he walked home from spending a night at the gay bars of Roosevelt Avenue with friends, he was viciously attacked and left for dead in the dark of night on a peaceful tree-lined block lined with medium-sized apartment buildings. Eddie, who I knew as a friend, would never regain consciousness. He remained in a coma for two weeks and a half - and passed away on September 4th, 2001.

Originally, I was going to write about the memorial mass and vigil that his family organized on Sunday evening to observe the 7th anniversary of his passing (that's Leonor and Armando Garzon, right, during the vigil).

Amazingly, more than fifty people showed up - between friends of the family and those who knew Eddie, political leaders and those who had heard of his death but never met him.

It also turned out to be a cozier affair than the memorials of years past in part because Leonor let those present stand up and tell stories about her son which she said helped her to celebrate her son's life even if she was hearing some of these stories for the first time.

Movingly, at the end of the mass, Leonor turned to her husband and thanked him publicly, for being next to her for so many years, for giving her three such beautiful children and for giving her the joy of being a mother which had sustained her through tragic of circumstances.

In the most heartbreaking moment of the night, Armando stood up and, in a broken voice, thanked those of us who were present and said he had never been able to be as strong as his wife and that sometimes the thought of losing his son was too painful to even vocalize. They embraced each other to applause and tears before we all filed out and joined them in the candlelight vigil. I have more photos of the vigil here.

On 9/11 (2008), a guilty verdict: This morning I woke up to a live broadcast of some who lost loved ones at the World Trade Center reading the names of the lost. As with Eddie's murder, it has been seven years since the attacks and - while some have moved on - I couldn't help but to catch myself becoming emotional and, for lack of a better word, glad that the memorial was being broadcast live as a raw reminder of that awful September morning.

Following Eddie's murder and the 9/11 attacks one memory that remains indelible is that the weekly gay news publication Gay City News (then called LGNY) ran a special double-cover issue: News of Eddie's murder was on one side and a photo of openly gay NYFD chaplain Mychal Judge, who died in the 9/11 attacks, was on the other.

Among all publications, the team behind LGNY/GCN have assiduously, tenaciously followed the case of Eddie's murder over the years, so it was not a surprise that GCN reporter Duncan Osbourne was the first one to e-mail me today to tell me that a jury had just declared John L. McGhee guilty of murder in the 2nd degree earlier today (just as former GCN reporter Michael Meenan - then writing for The New York Times - tipped me off to McGhee's 2006 arrest).

You see, even as the Garzon family was observing the anniversary of their son's death on Sunday, a jury was deciding whether a man was guilty of his murder for the second time (a first trial ended when the judge declared a mistrial). Today, in surprisingly quick fashion, they declared him guilty (see this and this report from Gay City News)

In my posts about Eddie I have tried to be careful not to link up 9/11 and his murder to avoid insulting any family member who mourns those who died in the Twin Towers but today I am re-posting an October 3, 2001 Newsday editorial in its entirety (it's no longer available online):

Don't Let Jackson Heights Gay Murder Be Forgotten

Seven days before thousands of New Yorkers perished at the hands of suicide hijackers, Edgar Garzon met an equally senseless fate. He died from wounds sustained in a bias attack in Jackson Heights. He had been beaten into a coma with a baseball bat or lead pipe three weeks earlier - because he was gay.

The police, who are actively pursuing leads in the case, have not forgotten about Garzon. Let's hope no one else has either, especially public officials whose duty is to remind residents that brutally attacking people because of their sexual orientation is outrageous and unacceptable.

A Colombia native, Garzon settled in Queens' largest gay community in Jackson Heights. Some residents believe that the borough, no matter how tolerant of its wide diversity, is more susceptible to this kind of bias attack than a lot of people might assume.

In fact, another bias killing horrified the gay community 11 years before, when Julio Rivera was beaten to death a block away from where Garzon was attacked in mid-August. That high-profile murder helped galvanize the community and heighten its social and political influence, culminating this year with the opening of the borough's first two gay community centers – in Corona and Woodside - and an openly gay candidate for City Council, Jimmy Van Bramer, finishing second in the multi-candidate District 25 race.

For now, there's a $15,000 reward for information leading to Garzon's killers, including $10,000 from the city. Community leaders also hope to reschedule a town-hall meeting with police officials that was originally planned for Sept. 12, a day after the World Trade Center terror attack.

Gay residents' fear and anxiety are just as real today. So it's up to law enforcement and elected officials to put their minds at ease.

That says anything I could say much better than I ever could. The crime was at risk of being forgotten in the wake of 9/11 and it certainly was thanks to efforts from his family, community leaders, political leaders and police detectives that kept Eddie's memory in their hearts that today's verdict was possible.

Related:

• September 11, 2008: Quick murder verdict in 2001 Edgar Garzon slaying in Jackson Heights (Gay City News)
  

Previously:

• July 17, 2008: Key witness vanishes as 2nd Eddie Garzon murder trial approaches
  
• September 5, 2007: Last night's vigil...
  
• September 2, 2007: Six years since the murder of Eddie Garzon...
• July 25, 2007: Judge Declares Mistrial in Eddie Garzon murder case
  
• July 13, 2007: Trial Begins in the Slaying of Edgar Garzon
  
• February 8, 2007: Michael J. Sandy and Edgar Garzon pre-trial hearings underway
  
• October 18, 2006: A Pansy for Edgar Garzon
• September 5, 2006: 5th Annual Memorial Mass and Vigil in honor of Eddie Garzon
  
• July 7, 2006: Gay City News on Eddie Garzon
  
• July 1, 2006: Armando Garzon talks to El Diario La Prensa
• June 30, 2006: New York Times: Stepping off plane, man is arrested in '01 murder
• Part 1: The Attack
• Part 2: COLEGA and Eddie Garzon
• Part 3: So what is, exactly, is a 'hate crime'? (and a prayer)
• Part 4: Eddie Garzon passes on
• Part 5: The Vigil
• Part 6: A Newsday Editorial
• Part 7: A parade of angels
• Part 8: Epilogue

Key witness vanishes as 2nd Eddie Garzon murder trial approaches

Long time readers of this blog know that during the early days I tried to write down my recollections on finding that a friend had been assaulted on the streets of Queens in August of 2001 and subsequently passed away from the injuries a few days before 9/11. 35 year old Eddie Garzon had apparently been the victim of a brutal gay bashing.

Two years ago 38 year old John L. McGhee was arrested by police as he stepped out of a plane from London. He was charged in Garzon's murder and was taken to court.

Stunningly, despite testimony from a star witness who said he had been with McGhee on the night of the attack and observed the beating, the trial ended in a mistrial (it should be said, though, that by all accounts, witness Christopher Ricalde's testimony did contain some inconsistencies).

The Queens Distric Attorney's Office promised at the time to bring McGhee back to court for a second trial.

This week I spoke to a reporter from El Diario La Prensa who is writing an article on the new trial for this Sunday's paper. She also interviewed Eddie's parents.

But even as the new trial is slated to begin next month, I was stunned today when Duncan Osborne at Gay City News alerted me to an article just posted online ("Witness Lost in Gay Murder Case"). Osborbe reports that Ricalde can't be found and will probably not testify at the new trial.

Sharon Stapel, Executive Director the New York City Anti-Violence Project, told GCN that there was no way to predict the impact of the missing witness. "Obviously, at AVP we are happy that the district attorney's office is pursuing this case with all of the resources they've put behind it," she said.

But I can't help but feel angry that the Queens District Attorney's Office has lost track of what only could be considered as their star witness.

According to GCN, "Without Ricalde on the stand, a jury will hear [McGhee's attorney]'s original cross examination read from the transcript, but jurors will not see his potentially flawed testimony."

UPDATE: McGhee guilty of 2nd degree murder in killing of Edgar Garzon (Sept. 11, 2008)

Update: Judge declares mistrial in Eddie Garzon murder case

In last week´s Gay City News , Duncan Osbourne filed a follow-up story on the proceedings in a Queens courtroom where 39 year-old John McGhee stood accused of murdering a gay Colombian man, 35 year-old Edgar Garzon, in the streets of Jackson Heights in the Fall of 2001.

Last week Christopher Ricalde, a former friend of McGhee´s, took the stand as the prosecution´s star witness and vividly described how McGhee viciously beat up Garzon, causing his head to hit the ground repeatedly, which allegedly caused the massive brain injuries that left Garzon in a coma until his death days later.

Ultimately, McGhee´s attorney, Charles D. Abercombie was aparently successful in raising questions about Ricalde´s credibility:

While Osborne says in the article that the case had gone to the jury, he tells Queerty that the presiding judge declared a mistrial yesterday after the jury became deadlocked on the charges against McGhee.

Duncan tells us, through e-mail, that the Queens District Attorney´s Office has vowed to push for a second trial which might possibly come this fall.

• From the July 26th edition of Gay City News: "Mistrial Called in Garzon Murder"
  

Previously on Blabbeando:

• July 13, 2007: Trial Begins in the Slaying of Edgar Garzon
  
• February 8, 2007: Michael J. Sandy and Edgar Garzon pre-trial hearings underway
  
• October 18, 2006: A Pansy for Edgar Garzon
• September 5, 2006: 5th Annual Memorial Mass and Vigil in honor of Eddie Garzon
  
• July 7, 2006: Gay City News on Eddie Garzon
  
• July 1, 2006: Armando Garzon talks to El Diario La Prensa
• June 30, 2006: New York Times: Stepping off plane, man is arrested in '01 murder
  
• June 29, 2006: Eddie Garzon: After five years, an arrest
  
• Part 1: The Attack
• Part 2: COLEGA and Eddie Garzon
• Part 3: So what is, exactly, is a 'hate crime'? (and a prayer)
• Part 4: Eddie Garzon passes on
• Part 5: The Vigil
• Part 6: A Newsday Editorial
• Part 7: A parade of angels
• Part 8: Epilogue

Trial begins in the slaying of Edgar Garzon

Duncan Osborne at Gay City News and Ikimulisa Livingston at the New York Post cover the opening statements in a trial to determine whether John L. McGhee killed my friend Edgar Garzon in the summer of 2001.

"I will prove to you that this defendant did this because Mr. Garzon was a gay man and he made the mistake of hitting on this defendant," said prosecutor Karen Ross representing the Queens District Attorney's office.

McGhee was arrested in June of 2006 upon returning from the UK based on a statement given by a witness who came forward a year after the attack and statements made later by people close to McGhee.

According to the Post, Defense lawyer Charles Abercrombie said McGhee is innocent and pointed out that there "is no DNA evidence, no fingerprints and no weapons connecting McGhee to the crime."

Despite attempts from Abercrombie to have the judge limit the testimony of Leonor Garzon, Edgar's mother, to simply identifying her son in a photo, Ms. Garzon gave moving testimony as she weeped on the stand. Quoting from Gay City News:

Before Leonor testified, and with the jury out of the courtroom, Abercrombie asked that she be limited to identifying Edgar from his hospital photos and she not be allowed to discuss his life or achievements.

"The character of the victim is not an issue in this case," he told Robert J. Hanophy, the judge in the case. Ross and Hanophy agreed.

Questioned by Ross, Leonor went on at length about Edgar's work as a film editor, restaurant owner, and set designer. He was "very creative," she said. She wept when asked about first seeing Edgar in the hospital.

"His face had no shape at all," Leonor said through a translator. "I kept talking to him and I was afraid to kiss him."

When Ross asked, "Did he respond to you at all?" Leonor burst into tears and said only "No, no."

While Abercrombie could have objected, given the earlier agreement with the prosecutor and the judge, interrupting a weeping mother's testimony could anger the jury. It was only when Ross paused to introduce two hospital photos of Edgar that Abercrombie got a discussion out of the jury's hearing and Leonor was dismissed from the stand.

Hanophy later told the jury that both sides had agreed that Leonor had identified Edgar.

With the jury out of the courtroom, Abercrombie asked for a mistrial or that the jury be told to ignore Leonor's testimony. Hanophy denied both motions.

Trial resumes on Monday.

Update:

• July 25, 2007: Judge declares mistrail in Edgar Garzon murder case

Previously on Blabbeando:

• February 8, 2007: Michael J. Sandy and Edgar Garzon pre-trial hearings underway
  
• October 18, 2006: A Pansy for Edgar Garzon
• September 5, 2006: 5th Annual Memorial Mass and Vigil in honor of Eddie Garzon
  
• July 7, 2006: Gay City News on Eddie Garzon
  
• July 1, 2006: Armando Garzon talks to El Diario La Prensa
• June 30, 2006: New York Times: Stepping off plane, man is arrested in '01 murder
  
• June 29, 2006: Eddie Garzon: After five years, an arrest
  
• Part 1: The Attack
• Part 2: COLEGA and Eddie Garzon
• Part 3: So what is, exactly, is a 'hate crime'? (and a prayer)
• Part 4: Eddie Garzon passes on
• Part 5: The Vigil
• Part 6: A Newsday Editorial
• Part 7: A parade of angels
• Part 8: Epilogue

Gay City News: Ongoing debate about hanging of Iranian youth

Today's issue of Gay City News continues to report on the ongoing fissures among activists regarding the hanging last year of two Iranian youths possibly for being gay. It's a fascinating if painful debate that only seems to widen as the days go by. The related articles are as follows:

• The Fog of Debate by Duncan Osbourne
• Iran: Setting the record straight by Doug Ireland (in response to an OpEd by Scott Long last week)
• Letter from the Editor by Paul Schindler
• People-to-people dialogue key to human rights progress by the founders of the Queer Iran Alliance

We had previously written about this when an as of then internal debate on the hangings broke out publicly and after we attended an event at the LGBT Center put together by Human Rights Watch and IGLHRC, among others, on the same day that public demonstrations were happening elsewhere in New York and the world.