Spain: Jacobo Piñeiro given maximum sentence in murder of gay couple after having been previously acquitted

In March of last year I wrote about an unspeakable crime that took place in Vigo, Spain on January 13th, 2006.

That early morning a man called Jacobo Piñeiro (right) killed a gay couple by stabbing them 57 times and then tried to set their apartment on fire to cover up the crime.

In court, he acknowledged he had murdered the two men but argued that he had acted in defense after the couple had made unwanted sexual advances and threatened him if he didn't comply.  Piñeiro said he "panicked".

Piñeiro's lawyer argued his client had become overcome by an "insurmountable fear of being raped and being murdered".  The good ol' 'panic defense'.

It worked. A regional jury acquitted him of murder charges and, at first instance, also acquitted him of arson charges.  From my original post on that March 2009 verdict (link above):

It was only after beginning to read the statement in court that the judge stepped in to correct some "errors" which led Piñerio to be charged in setting up the fire. When the verdict was read, jury members covered their face, perhaps already aware of the outrage that their verdict would elicit.

He remains to be sentenced and is expected to be sent to prison for 15 to 20 years for setting the fire. If he hadn't been acquitted of the murder charges, he would have been sent to prison for up to 60 years.

In other words, Piñeiro was acquitted of taking two lives but declared guilty of setting a building on fire.

The worldwide outrage was fast.  There were protests in London and Spain and my friend Karlo organized a small protest here in New York outside the Spanish embassy.

In October of last year, after the verdict was appealed, a higher court called it "defective, absurd, illogical and arbitrary" and ordered a new trial.

On July 12th of 2010, Piñeiro walked out of jail a free man (video).  His attorneys argued that Spanish law forbid the authorities from holding anyone without being charged for more than three years and - since all previous charged had been invalidated - Piñeiro was released until the new trial. Obviously, the friends and family of the murdered couple were distraught and Piñeiro certainly didn't show any more resourcefulness than he showed in jail (check photo above).

Good news: On September 26th a second jury found Piñeiro guilty of both murders as well as setting their place on fire and on October 14 he was sentenced to 25 to 58 years in jail, minus time already served- The maximum allowed time for the horrendous crime.

It's always nice to learn that justice has been served.

Outrage in Spain: Man held in brutal murder of gay couple is set free after 4 years in prison

Photo: Julio Anderson Luciano and Isaac Ali Dani Pérez Triviño (l-r) who were brutaly murdered in Vigo, Spain on January of 2006.

Stunning news: On January 13th, 2006, Jacobo Piñero stabbed Julio Anderson Luciano and Isaac Ali Dani Pérez Triviño  to death 57 times.  The victims were a gay couple. He then threw clothing all around the apartment, poured gasoline over everything and set everything on fire. Firemen arrived in time to quickly put out the fire and, within hours, leads led to Piñero's arrest.

When the case finally came to trial last year, Piñero stood up in court and confessed to the murders but a jury accepted a gay panic defense and found him innocent of every single charge against him, including murder and arson. It was the presiding judge who then stepped in to 'correct an error' and found him guilty of setting the fire ("Outrage at aquittal of man who stabbed gay couple 57 times and set their bodies on fire", March 2, 2009).

On April 3rd, 2009, the judged sentenced Piñero to twenty years in prison, the maximum term allowed by the law.

The acquittal on murder charges considering the extreme violence and gruesome details of the attack, drew orldwide outrage with several rallies throughout Spain demanding justice. A few LGBT advocates in New York also gathered outside the Spanish embassy in New York City.

Today Piñero walked out of jail a free man ("Man accused in double homophobic crime, goes free", Público, July 13, 2010).

At issue was an ruling earlier this year by a higher court which actually annulled last year's verdict and ordered a new trial.

Spain's penal laws limit the maximum time that a person can be held in custody without charges to four years in prison. The court ruled that, since Piñero had been held in custody from the day he was arrested in 1996, he could not continue to be held in prison unless he was found guilty of a crime on a later date.

The court ordered Piñero to hand in his passport, recognizing that there was a risk he might try to leave the country, and required that he meet with authorities every single day until the next trial. But they also turned down a request by friends and family of the murdered couple to require that Piñero use an electronic ankle bracelet to pinpoint his whereabouts at all times.

A new trial in the brutal murder has been scheduled for September 16, 2010.

Mexico: "Hooking-up can be your murderer", men are warned at gay bars

"ATTENTION: In our community, there are more murders each day. Today's hook-up could be your murderer. Be careful of who you invite to your home"

So says a number of stark black and white posters and post-cards that began appearing at a number of gay bars in Mexico City with skulls placed in the middle of two interlocked masculinity symbols.

On Monday, Milenio said that the campaign, meant to raise awareness about a raise in homophobic crimes in the city, was actually the idea of a group of friends who got together and decided to do something. They tell the paper that they knew of at least ten men who had been recently found dead after picking up someone at a gay bar the night before.

The founder of the group, 40-year old Alberto Shueke, said he knew at least three of those men and decided to take action following the gruesome murder of a friend's roommate back in August.

That man, 24-year old Victor Galán, was found stabbed 24 times. Neighbors saw him bring someone home the night before while his roommate was away on vacation.

Shueke said that the campaign was not meant to tell gay men how to behave or to curtail ways in which gay men socialize but that it was just a way to raise awareness about these crimes.

At the bottom, below the warning, the poster also suggests steps that should be taken in case a hook-up does occur. It includes making friends aware of where you will be and with whom, asking friends to take a photo of you and the hook-up, not leaving the bar with more than one person, and avoiding taking the hook-up to your place on the first day of meeting him.

In August, in response to the increasing rate of murders of gay men, Mexico City approved a hate crimes that protects specific social groups, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity (SEE: "Mexico City adopts inclusive hate crimes measure", Blabbeando, August 26, 2009).

• Here is the campaign's official website: Aguas con tu Ligue.

Peru: Court annulls sentence of anti-gay serial murderer, orders new trial

A Peruvian appellate court has dismissed an earlier conviction against Pedro Pablo Nakada Ludeña - known as Perú's worst serial murderer - which called for 35 years in jail for the murder of nine individuals. Nakada, who is 35, had actually confessed murdering from twelve to twenty-five people between the years of 1990 and 2006 (depending on accounts), saying that God had called upon him to clean the city streets of gays, drug addicts and prostitutes.

After the May 2008 verdict, an appeal was submitted alleging that Nakada was mentally ill and suffered from schizophrenia (claims that were introduced during the civil court trial but rejected by the jury). They also claimed that the verdict was unconstitutional since the ruling did not specifically assign a motive for the murders as reacquired by law.

This week the appellate court agreed and annulled the jail sentence. They also ordered a new trial under a 'security process' system specifically addressing cases in which someone who is accused of a crime is found to have mental disabilities. If found guilty, Nakada would face confinement in a mental health institute but avoid a jail sentence.

In a 2006 police interview, a couple of days after his arrest, Nakada confessed to many of the murders without showing guilt or remorse. Excerpts culled from a transcript, as published then by La Republica, are chilling:

Authorities: You assert being an envoy from God to purify the earth, do you regret committing so many crimes?
Nakada: What do I have to feel sorry about? Those people shouldn't exist.
Authorities: So, if you had another opportunity, would you kill again?
Nakada: I had the mission of cleaning the streets of drug-addicts, homosexuals and thieves. I still have a pending job...
Authorities: Didn't you think about your family, your wife, your children?
Nakada: I love my wife, María [...] and my three sons.

A report released along with the transcript said that Nakado claimed to have been sexually abused by family members when he was four, that he'd begun killing animals at at five and that his oldest sister forced him to wear girl's clothing when he was six. During his teens, he said, he killed cows, horses and bulls and took great pleasure in seeing them suffer.

In 1990, Nakada enlisted in the Peruvian armed forces but only served two months. Military psychiatrists recommended his discharge, calling him a 'dangerous to society.' They reported that Nakara listened to voices giving him Divine mandates and labeled him a psychopath. Nakada was never referred to any treatment and was said to be suicidal after being rejected by the military. By then he had learned how to use firearms. It was around that time, at the age of 17, that he said that he killed his first human victim when he caught someone stealing a watermelon from a fruit cart. He would confess to murdering another 19 persons and called himself "The Apostle of Death".

Not all his claims have proved credible. News reports still report his initial claim that he belonged to the Peruvian Air Force, which has proven false. There are also reports that his name of birth is Pedro Pablo Mesías Ludeña and that he changed his last name to Nakada in 2003 to acquire a Japanese sounding last name in hopes to moving there someday.

Families of the victims claim that Nakara is faking mental illness to escape a jail sentence and that he should serve a sentence in jail for his crimes. It's unclear if a new trial might bring a similar imprisonment rem in a mental health facility but some psychologists have also expressed concern that mental institutions might not be ready to integrate a mass murderer into their facilities.

Sources:

• State mental institutions might not be ready to house assassins (Peru 21, March 27, 2009)
  
• 35-year sentence annulled for 'The Apostle of Death' Nakada (Huara en Linea, March 26. 2009)
• Military discharged the 'Predator of Huaral' for being crazy in 1990 (Jan. 1, 2007)
• I killed 25 people to rid the word of scum (Noticias Les Gay Peru, Dec. 31, 2006)
• The 'Predator of Huaral' confesses (Dec. 30. 2006)

[Photo above from Caretas magazine]

Colombia: In Alvaro Rivera's murder, advocates demand hate crime investigation

Colombia Diversa, the largest LGBT rights advocacy organization in Colombia, has released a strong statement condemning last Friday's violent murder of LGBT rights activist Alvaro Miguel Rivera in the city of Cali, and demanded that authorities investigate whether it was a hate crime:

One of the founders of the LGBT movement in the country, Alvaro Miguel Rivera Linares, was murdered this past March 6th. Colombia Diversa demands an exhaustive investigation of this and the other cases in which the victims are LGBT individuals, and particularly those that show signs of homophobia.

Colombia Diversa demands that the corresponding authorities that they investigate the murder of Alvaro Miguel Rivera Linares exhaustively, as a renown defender of LGBT human rights and of people living with HIV.

Specifically, we ask that during the investigation it be entertained and verified whether there exist homophobic motivations of hate and prejudice, for his work as a defender, for the sexual orientation of Alvaro Rivera, and for the inhuman and cruel way in which he was murdered.

Alvaro Miguel dedicated a great part of his life to defend LGBT rights, reason why he was threatened on various occasions, and for which he even had to escape his hometown. Nonetheless, it is feared that the corresponding authorities might hurry to indicate other causes for the murder and might play down or ignore proof of homophobia, as has occurred with many similar cases.

Cruelty and impunity in Cali

There is worry about serious instances of prejudicial violence against the LGBT population in Cali, a situation which Colombia Diversa - along the Santa Maria Foundation - have reported for years. As it has been able to be established, the murder of Alvaro Miguel Rivera occurs in a context of generalized violence against the LGBT population, specifically in sectors of the city such as, among others, Loma de la Cruz, where there are registered instances of police abuse and arbitrary detentions, specially against the transgender community.

As the organization has warned, the authorities in charge regularly rush their conclusions on the motivations for the murder of an LGBT individual, particularly for personal prejudice and a lack of specialization in these kind of crimes, and confuse them with "crimes of passion", which not only blames the victim but also minimizes social responsibility for these acts.

In addition to this, the passivity and omission state entities in the City of Cali is it is evident when faced by this situation, even though it involves the public authorities.

For this reason Colombia Diversa announces it's concern and condemnation against the murder of Alvaro Miguel Rivera, as well as for the level of violence that exists in Cali towards the LGBT population. At the same time, it invites all the civil society organizations to express their rejection against these situations. In particular, we call on the following local and state authorities in Valle and Cali:

* Valle del Cauca Governor's Office
* Cali Mayor's Office
* Cali Police Department
* The Director of the local Cali Prosecution Office
* Regional Ombudsman for Valle del Cauca
* Cali public servants

We ask of these authorities that they:

1. That, in their investigative hypothesis, they consider Alvaro Miguel Rivera Linares' work as a defender of the human rights of the LGBT population as a possible motivation for the murder - and the context of violence against the LGBT community in Cali.

2. That they take prompt and effective actions to stop and prevent violence against the LGBT community in Cali, specially by the own public authorities of the city.

At the same time, Colombia Diversa urges the authorities on a national level to initiate investigative inquiries into the murder of LGBT human rights activists, as well as the other 67 deaths, confirmed by Colombia Diversa, between 2006 and 2007, in Colombia.

- Maurico Noguera, Colombia Diversa ( mnoguera @ colombiadiversa.com )

Colombia Diversa follows statements made by activists and friends who knew Alvaro in Cali (the YouTube video above, for which I have provided an onscreen translation, was broadcast on Saturday by Noticias Uno) demanding that the crime be investigated as a hate crime. In it, the Ombudsman of the City of Cali also demands an investigation of whether it was a hate crime.

In the meantime, as upset as I was about the murder of someone I admired, the details were what made things much worse. Today El Tiempo published the additional information I'd been keeping to myself:

Alvaro Miguel was found in his apartment tied to a bed, with blows to his body, which were probably produced by a stick or a bat, and with his teeth broken. The apartment had been trashed, as if the assailants were seeking something, but there was not one thing missing.

I was also told that his hands and mouth were also bound by duct-tape, which indicates to me that there was some planning to the murder.

Alvaro's murder has been receiving some international attention - and rightfully so - let's hope that the result is that his murderers are brought to justice.

Previously:

• Colombia: A hero murdered (March 8, 2009)

Alvaro Miguel Rivera Linares in his own words (Spanish):

Colombia: A hero murdered

• Facebook status update, Fri., March 6th, 10:24 am: "Organizing my life..."
• Facebook schedule update, Fri., March 6th, 6:45 pm: Attending March 14th forum on "The legal advances for same-sex couples in Colombia" organized by Colectivo Tinku in Cali, Colombia.

Yesterday, as I was writing my post on the various demonstrations calling for justice in the murder of a gay couple in Spain, I was trying to find good online image galleries of the protest in Vigo, which was said to have drawn up to 2,000 people.

I found some articles but no good galleries. And then, for some reason, Google pulled up this headline from Colombia's El Espectador: "Pole LGTB leader murdered."

My heart sank. I swear I knew exactly who it would be even before I clicked on the link. But it still didn't lessen the shock or dismay when my fears were confirmed.

I was lucky enough to meet Alvaro Miguel Rivera a couple of times when he visited the United States. We'd been in touch before, of course, based on his extraordinary and enduring determination to fight for the rights of LGBT individuals and HIV positive people in what could be called one of the most homophobic regions in the country: El llano oriental (Colombia's rural eastern plains).

That's actually the reason I found out about him.

Back in 2001, Alvaro was living in Villavicencio, Meta, in a region set aside by the government as a 'safe haven' zone where FARC guerrilla members could walk around without fear of government intervention (it was part of a failed effort to reach peace with the armed insurgents). Alvaro, who had finished a degree in Agricultural Engineering, worked in a region known for it's cattle ranches and was already known as a public advocate for sexual minorities and those who were HIV positive.

He loved Villavicencio, not the least because his family lived there. But, as FARC troops began to move in, Alvaro began to receive anonymous phone calls, felt he was being followed by strangers, and reported harassing calls to his employers with the intent to tarnish his reputation. In April of 2001, he finally reported it to the local authorities and they told him that they could only wait until something actually happened to take any action. Police only began to investigate when Alvaro went public sending a series of e-mail messages to different organizations (at the time, I translated some of them on his behalf, and alerted human rights organizations in the United States, including IGLHRC).

All this in a worsening environment for those in the area who were HIV positive. In October of 2001, El Tiempo reported that the FARC had begun to require local residents to get tested for HIV and were giving a week-long ultimatum for people who tested positive to leave the region.

A week after the article was published, Alvaro actually reported having attended a meeting held between local hospital personnel and members of the FARC in which the FARC agreed to temporarily suspend the program. El Tiempo had reported that by then, they already had access to testing equipment and had tested more than 3,ooo individuals for HIV.

The 'safe haven' zone might have been lifted since then, but the death threats and harassment against Alvaro continued, forcing him to leave a place he loved so much. He decided to move to Cali - the third largest city in Colombia, following Bogota and Medellin - where he became the Director of Colectivo Tinku, a local LGBT rights organization.

He also became one of the founders and leaders of the local gay chapter of the Alternative Democratic Pole political party (which is why, the moment I read "Pole LGBT leader murdered" headline, I feared it might be Alvaro).

The article just said that the national Alternative Democratic Pole had released a statement in which they condemned his "brutal" murder on Friday night,

As of late, we had reconnected through, what else! - Our Facebook profiles! The article on his murder actually offered very few details so I went to his Facebook page and got confirmation that, indeed, it was Alvaro who'd been killed.

I've been in touch with a mutual friend and he says that he was found murdered in his apartment around 10pm and that police are currently investigating the crime. He died violently but I'll keep details to myself since they have not been published and the authorities might not want some of them to be made public as they begin the investigation.

There have been incredible advances as of late in the recognition of LGBT rights in Colombia which have resulted in several Constitutional Court rulings that have extended a series of protections to same-sex couples in the country - just short of recognizing the right to marry or to enter into a civil union.

One right that heterosexual couples enjoy but is denied to same-sex partners in Colombia is the right to adopt.

In a note Alvaro posted on February 2nd, he writes about his desire to be a father. An edited excerpt:

Today when I approach the fourth floor [his 40's] at a velocity which I cannot control and I feel the joy of maturity and the peacefulness I feel in being alone, I confronted an emotion similar to that [I felt when I turned 30].

I'd been out shopping, killing time in a shopping mall, bartering prices, and enamoring myself of things I cannot buy; all of a sudden I found myself in a store with things for babies and kids.

I noticed a baby's bed, a dining table, clothing for a newly born, toys, rattles, napkins, one and another photo album - I imagined what my baby would have been like, all chubby with straight dark hair, restless eyes and a cry-baby... I was so excited and engrossed in my longing, when a Ms. said to me "if it's a boy, you have to buy everything in blue, if it's a girl, you have to buy everything in pink". Without thinking what I was saying, I said "Lady, thanks for the suggestion. It will be a boy and I will buy everything in pink." Perhaps I was too harsh in my response because the lady left without replying.

[...]

Once I was back and with the silence of the apartment, I asked myself if I was a frustrated dad and if I had repeatedly denied myself the possibility of being a father, of seeing a child grow up, of bringing him a future.

If I wanted to be a father today in Colombia, I could not be one unless I renounced to being Gay, even if I love women I do not see myself having a penetrative relation to obtain my objective of becoming a father, I also don't think my dick would work.

The only [way] is that the Colombian government grant me the right enjoyed by any other citizen of this country to adopt a child, or various children. I think that I would be a good father, a bachelor father, of course. But the Colombian government is not entertaining [an option for] Gay, Lesbi, Trans persons to adopt.

Adoption rights for gays in Colombia might still become a reality if not before Alvaro died. And I found it truly moving - and sad- to read his thoughts on the possibility of becoming a father. That was pure Alvaro, mixing the personal with the activism, giving it such a human angle.

After years of being an out and proud gay man in the most difficult of circumstances and even under the threat of being killed, I also find comfort that Alvaro felt, as he expressed in the note, that he had reached a stage in which he felt "the joy of maturity and the peacefulness [of being alone]".

He is a tremendous loss to the international human rights movement and will be sorely missed. His family will be taking his body back to Villavicencio to fulfill his wish that, one day, he could be able to return to his beloved llanos. Rest in peace, Alvarín.

Update (3/10/09): In Alvaro Rivera's murder, advocates demand a hate crime investigation (Blabbeando)

Update (3/9/09): El Tiempo reports that Alvaro, who was 41, spent a few years in exile in Costa Rica due to death threats and had returned to Colombia five years ago. According to the Alternative Democratic Pole, he was still receiving death threats after settling in Cali. The paper says that the crime "was reported by a neighbor who found him with his hands tied and with a blow to the head."

Cali's El País, which surprisingly has only ran a blurb on the murder, says that the room had been turned upside-down but that the door had no signs of having been forced open.

El Tiempo also says of Alvaro:

Rivera was part of the June Unity Association; organized 'Process T'; was the founder of Colectivo Tinku, gave support to the the organizing of the "Leaders of the LGBT Sector" organizational gathering, and was a founder of Cali's Third LGBT Pride March.

He participated in national initiatives such as Planet Peace, was one of the founders of the National Colombian Network of People Living w/HIV (RECOLVIH) and established contacts in Mexico and Spain related to the issue of social inclusion o the LGBTI sector.

In the last tri-mester of 2008 he started the "Cali, city without limits: Territory of Social Inclusion" of Cali's Mayor's Office.

Germán Humberto Rincón Perfetti, one of the leading legal advocates on LGBT issues in Colombia, and a close friend of Alvaro's, released a statement in which he calls it a "hate crime" and alludes to hypotheses that Alvaro might have invited the persons who killed him into his apartment (it's a literal translation so some passages might read a bit awkward in English):

The hate crime [committed against] Alvaro Miguel Rivera, an activist living with HIV and [who was] homosexual in Cali, Colombia, has us heartbroken; nevertheless this is a reality that has always been present for many years, in many cities of Colombia and the world (remember the crime against Versace, the designer, in Miami).

To engage in prevention so that homosexual men do not take other men to their place of residence is not the solution. All people have the right to make use of a non-reproductive recreational sexuality, nevertheless this does not justify a hate crime, as rape of a woman cannot be justified by her wearing a mini-skirt or for sensually showing her breasts or other attributes.

We have received and will receive many more messages of repudiation, nevertheless **I MAKE A CALL FOR ENGAGING IN STRUCTURAL ACTIONS at the local level (government offices at state capitals) and the national level.

We demand urgently that the Prosecutor's Office create a hate crimes unit and study and investigate our [crimes] within the agency.

We demand that Congress, the Prosecutor's Office, the Police and other administrative entities on a national level, submit reports on the issue, in order to question the OMISSION of the Government, elicit expectations, put the issue on the public and political agenda.

To meet at local City Councils, seek funding to engage in prevention, sustain 24-hour help lines, and actions in which it is understood that more than 99% of the people in our community live and act in the closet, which reacquire actions according to the real life situation, to study circumstances of vulnerability, which make us objects of these persons and gangs who believe that with these crimes they do a favor to the world by finishing-off one more, as when travestis and homeless people are murdered, and which are done in what is called "social cleansing".

To make public that there exist public discourses that help to feed these crimes and to ask that they stop causing us harm.

It's necessary to call for meetings in the cities in which we host activists in order to develop a short-, medium- and long-term PLAN.

Alvaro Miguel, what hurt!!!!!!!!

- Germán Humberto Rincón Perfetti
Bogota, Colombia

Related (English):

• Spanish language internet video interview with Alvaro, posted on Terra.com's gay portal TodoGay.com back in June 20th, 2008, in which he responds to questions about his LGBT activism in Colombia.

Related (Spanish):

• A great friend is murdered (Homopolitano)

Spain: Outrage at aquittal of man who stabbed gay couple 57 times and set their bodies on fire

[UPDATE 3/4/09: A solidarity vigil will be held in New York City this coming Saturday, March 7, 2009, at 1:00 pm outside the Spanish embassy - more details here].

27 year old Isaac Ali Dani Peréz Triviño (left) was born in Spain. 32 year old Julio Anderson Luciano (right) was born in Brazil. They lived together in the Spanish province of Vigo and were planning to get married.

Both were stabbed to death by Jacobo Piñeiro Rial in their apartment in the early morning of January 13th, 2006. The bodies showed a total of 57 stab wounds, according to forensics.

After killing them, Piñeiro took a shower and cleaned himself up. He filled a suitcase with some of their belongings to make it look like a robbery and then spilled clothing all over the place. He poured alcohol over everything, including his victims' bodies, turned on the gas spigot on the stove, and set everything on fire. The local fire department said that little evidence would have survived if it wasn't for their prompt response to the 5-alarm fire.

Piñeiro (left) hardly knew the men. Testimony revealed that Piñiero had spent the previous afternoon consuming cocaine and drinking at a gay bar called Strong at which Pérez Triviñio happened to work as a bartender. When his shift ended at 4:30pm, the bartender invited Piñeiro home. They spent the afternoon together until Anderson Luciano arrived around 10:30pm with two friends.

Pérez Triviñio came out of his room to greet them while they cooked some food but went back to his room without eating. Anderson Luciano's friends left after the late dinner but Piñeiro stayed overnight.

There are no independent witnesses, but police and forensic experts say that the murder rampage began around 4:00am. Apparently, Pérez Triviñio was stabbed first but did not die. Piñeiro then stabbed Anderson Luciano twice while in the couples' room, and 22 more times as he followed his victim out of the room, into a corridor and out to the living room - where he died.

Pérez Triviñio, in the meantime, had locked himself in the room and records show that he was able to call local authorities. The call was cut short when Piñeiro was able to break back into the room and finish him off by stabbing him 35 more times.

In the living room, he tied Anderson Luciano's hands and put a blanket over his body; in the bedroom, he placed a blanket over Pérez Triviñio's head, tied a cable around it, and tethered it to a bed post. He then emptied closets and threw clothes all over the apartment, poured alcohol and set everything on fire.

Piñeiro left the building around 9:30am. He was carrying the suitcase he had filled with the men's belongings and initially asked a friend if he could hide it. When his friend declined, he went back to his hometown, Cangas, and walked into another bar. When news of the fire and double-murder flashed on the television screen, he confessed to the bartender that he'd been the one to set the place on fire, and asked him to hide the suitcase. The bartender also declined to keep it. Piñeiro was arrested a couple of days later based on leads given by the men he encountered after leaving Vigo.

Defense: On trial, Piñiero refused to testify and was not put under cross-examination. But then, in a surprise move, he agreed to make a personal statement before the jury on the last day of trial.

"I will not blame anyone, the blame is mine for who I am", he said, while acknowledging that he had killed both men.

His defense? In a statement riddled by inconsistencies, he said that he had slept in a guest bedroom, and was awakened late at night by a naked Anderson Luciano, who invited him over for sex. He says that he was 'disgusted' by the sexual advances and rejected them, only to be threatened with a knife. Piñeiro says that he 'panicked' and successfully wrestled the knife away from his assailant - and used it to 'defend' himself. He also claimed that Pérez Triviñio came to his partner's defense brandishing a second knife. What do you know! He also stripped the knife away from him and continued to 'defend' himself!

His lawyer argued that Piñeiro was overcome by an "insurmountable fear of being raped and being murdered" and that his judgment was clouded by the alcohol and cocaine he had consumed in the previous two days (forensic experts had stated earlier said the effect of the cocaine would have rubbed off long before the killings and that, once he was arrested, there were no traces of alcohol in his body which did not match up with the huge amount of alcohol that Piñeiro said he had ingested). In other words, his lawyer used the well-known 'gay panic' defense.

Verdict: The jury bought it! La Voz de Galicia says that Piñeiro almost walked out of the courtroom free. He was acquitted of murder charges, and, in the first draft of the jury's statement, he was also acquitted of 'consciously' setting the apartment on fire. It was only after beginning to read the statement in court that the judge stepped in to correct some "errors" which led Piñiero to be charged in setting up the fire. When the verdict was read, jury members covered their face, perhaps already aware of the outrage that their verdict would elicit.

He remains to be sentenced and is expected to be sent to prison for 15 to 20 years for setting the fire. If he hadn't been acquitted of the murder charges, he would have been sent to prison for up to 60 years.

Justice: Marta Pérez Triviñio (left), Isaac's mother, is heartbroken. She says that the jury's verdict is "homophobic, racist and brainless" and spoke of Julio as being almost like a second son. She broke down after the verdict, but has steadfastly demanded justice to whoever will listen.

She actually lived with Isaac and Jacobo. The night of the murders, Ms. Pérez Triviñio had gone to a scheduled overnight visit to a charity service organization. She says that she will forever blame herself for not staying home that night and feels that her son and his partner would still be alive if she hadn't left.

Facebook: Rober Bass, a gay man who lives in Vigo and was outraged by the murder acquittals, has also set up a Facebook page calling for protests in Vigo, Madrid and Barcelona this Saturday, March 7th (there is a separate Facebook page for that specific protest).

Vigo was already the scene for a small demonstration that took place on Feb. 25th after the verdict.

This is a despicable crime with an unfortunate court ruling. It might yet become Spain's very own Matthew Sheppard moment.

Spanish-language sources:

• A double-homicide that began at a bar (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 15, 2009)
• "Why? That's what I would ask the killer" (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 15, 2009)
• Accused man alleges that he killed two young men in self-defense fearing that he'd be raped and killed (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 17, 2009)
• Forensics unravel defense of the accused and point to an 'elaborate' plan (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 18, 2009)
• Alcohol and gasoline on the bodies (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 18, 2009)
  
• Isaac Pérez was finished-off as he sought help from his cell phone (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 19, 2009)
• The accused acknowledges the crime: "I will not point my finger at anyone: I am guilty" (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 19, 2009)
• Jury validates defense in the 57 stabbings of two men in Vigo (La Voz de Galicia, Feb, 20, 2009)
• Popular Jury acquits man who confessed stabbing two young men 57 times of murder (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 21, 1009)
• Acquitted despite confessing to a double murder (Informativos Telecinco, Feb. 24, 2009)
• The Supreme Justice Court of Galicia promises that the appeal of the double crime in Vigo will be dealt with swiftly (Faro de Vigo, Feb. 26, 2009)

In Spanish, from Telecinco's "Rojo y Negro":

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

Colombia: Senate rejects same-sex partnership bill AGAIN; gay-friendly Notary Public shot to death in Bogota

Without much fanfare, a Colombian Senate committee rejected a bill on Wednesday that would have brought the legislative branch of the Colombian government up to speed with several Constitutional Court rulings determining that same-sex couples should be granted access to limited partnership benefits.

According to a statement released by Senator Gloria Inés Ramírez, the bill would have addressed what the country's top court identified as a legislative "deficit of protection" for same-sex couples. It would also have extended all the legal rights and protections already afforded to heterosexual couples in a common-law unions or long-term partnerships to same-sex couples.

It was the sixth time since 1999 that such a bill was rejected (the last time being June of 2007 when a similar bill was widely expected to pass and be signed by President Alvaro Uribe into law).

In the last two years, Colombia's Constitutional Court had determined that same-sex couples must be granted the right to share their common assets (Feb. 2007), their social security and health insurance benefits (Oct. 2007), and their pension benefits (Apr. 2008).

The Senate's failure to act does not mean that same-sex couples have lost any of these limited protections. If I understand correctly, it means that same-sex partners can continue to avail themselves by registering their names at at a notary office - but it still falls short of having the actual relationship be recognized as a civil union or marriage.

Gay-friendly notary public shot to death last night in Bogota: Now, back in February, I reported that it didn't seem to matter to a number of same-sex couples that access to a few rights did not mean that same-sex civil unions had been or were even close to being recognized by the government: They treated it as such anyway.

According to El Tiempo, notary public Norberto Salamanca - who oversaw partnership registrations at Notary Office 76 - stated that he'd "seen couples and guests carrying wedding invites in their hand, reading statements, taking pictures of the event and exchanging rings," adding "Some couples kiss each other to seal the ceremony" (see "One Bogota notary office, a hundred same-sex partnership registrations").

For his willingness to be on camera and to be interviewed by media during some of these ceremonies, Mr. Salamanca became perhaps the best-known notary public accepting these types of registrations (at the time El Tiempo had identified only two notary offices willing to register -sex couples in all of Bogota and said that Mr. Salamanca's office led in number of registrations putting the figure at 100).

Imagine my sadness this morning when I read reports online that Mr. Salamanca had been shot to death at 8:15 last night while he sat in his car.

Mexico's Milenio says that the police were looking for two gunmen who "escaped with great velocity towards an unknown destination."

They also note that Salamanca was well-known for his work with gay couples, "which cost him criticism from diverse conservative organizations that graded him as a detractor of morality."

Colombia's El Espectador says that Mr. Salamanca had driven his Mercedes Benz and had parked outside a building in an upper-class Bogota neighborhood as he waited to pick up his children from their place of residence. He was shot four times and died before his body was brought to a nearby hospital.

El Tiempo says that authorities are offering a reward equivalent to $24,000 dollars to anyone who provides information that leads them to the killer, who was said to be between 22 and 24 years of age, and said that they were also looking for a second man who was seen running away from the scene.

General Rodolfo Palomino, Director of the Bogota Police Department, said that they assume that those responsible for the crime are people who are opposed to same-sex partnerships but Salamanca's family told the paper that they didn't see a clear reason as to why someone would want to kill Mr. Salamanca.

In the meantime, El Espectador has uploaded a Caracol News segment on YouTube (below) which includes an interview Mr. Salamanca gave to CM& News hours before he was killed.

In the interview, Mr. Salamanca is asked whether notary officials should be authorized to act as judges while hundreds of judicial workers are engaging in a current ongoing strike. (bringing to a halt thousands of court cases).

Mr. Salamanca argues that notary officers can indeed serve as judges in some cases if only to assist with the backlog and that the notary office system provides a viable infrastructure for these cases to move forward in light that the court system has shut down.

Eerily he begins the interview with these words: "Since in Colombia there is no justice..."

Let's hope that's not the case and that justice comes in his murder.

Updates: Arrest in Angie Zapata murder, US HIV ban partially lifted

Arrest made in murder of Angie Zapata: Allen Ray Andrade (right) was arrested yesterday morning in Greely, Colorado, and charged with last week's brutal murder of transgender woman Angie Zapata.

In an affidavit obtained by The Denver Post of statements Andrade made to the police after being arrested, he says that he reacted violently after he realized Zapata was transgender after spending a night at her place, hitting her first with his fist and then with a fire estinguisher.

The arresting police officer quotes Andrade as saying that he thought he had "killed it" and then proceeded to wrap the body in a blanket. He then tried to clean up the mess but "after he noticed Zapata sitting up, he hit her again with the fire extinguisher."

He might claim temporary insanity once the trial comes but he seemed to recover his marbles pretty fast since he then systematically ran through the apartment and gathered some of Zapata's belongings including her purse, cellphone and car. Andrade has been charged with second-degree murder and aggravated motor-vehicle theft .

I had previously written about the case here and here. Monica Roberts has additional commentary here.

• Related: Colorado 'transgender panic' killing to be tried as a hate crime (Page One Q)

United States HIV ban partially lifted: It's been said that one of President George W. Bush's few semi-positive legacies will be the increase in funding that the United States contributes towards HIV prevention worldwide and, as part of a funding initiative that he signed into law yesterday, he also removed a federal ban on allowing HIV positive non-residents enter the country.

For those of us who have long advocated for a repeal of this discriminatory policy, it was a bitter-sweet but incredible moment. I have first-hand knowledge of the hell that so many go through when they have been eligible for immigration status but for their HIV status and this relic of the Jesse Helms anti-gay era is almost out of here.

Almost, because the removal from federal policy does not automatically remove the discriminatory language from the Department of Health and Human Services stipulations on who is allowed to enter the United States ("Ban on travelers with HIV to U.S. partially lifted", Los Angeles Times).

Immigration Equality, one of the leading organizations behind the repeal, have this to say about it. I previously wrote about the issue here.

Transgender Latina teen murdered in Colorado

History unfortunately keeps repeating itself. Word tonight that a 18 year-old transgender Latina woman has been murdered in Greely, Colorado.

NBC affiliate 9 News reports that close to 200 people gathered today at a Baptist church to mourn the passing of Angie Zapata (born Justin) who was found beaten to death in her apartment a week ago on Thursday.

Police indicate that they have information that might lead to an arrest and have not ruled out that this might be a hate crime but they have also indicated that the killer or killers might be acquaintances of the victim.

On a related matter, blogger TransGriot is taking the Associated Press to task for their common practice of calling trans people by their name of birth instead of their current adopted name ("Another transwoman murdered, another media diss").

AP reporter Mike Peters - who wrote the original story and made no mention of Zapata's gender identity ("Car still missing in homicide") - acknowledged his mistake in a follow up column posted today ("Homicide victim was living as a woman"). Unfortunately he takes a defensive attitude and name-tags the Greely police department, the Weld County's Coroner's Office, and the fact that Angie identified herself with the name of Justin in a couple appearances before a Colorado court for traffic-related violations as reason enough to have identified her as a male in his first report.

Both her parents, who mourn her passing at this time, accepted her fully as a woman and are said to have been greatly supportive of Angie. Let's hope they catch the perpetrators.

This Saturday: A vigil in memory of Sanesha Stewart

Organizations such as FIERCE!, The Sylvia Rivera Law Project and the Audre Lorde Project have been sending alerts this week about a community vigil taking place this Saturday in memory and celebration of the life of Sanesha Stewart (left) who was stabbed to death in February at the age of 25.

Here are details about the vigil and, below, what other bloggers are saying about the life of Sanesha, the lack of awareness about her murder and the problematic initial coverage by the New York Daily News.

Sanesha Stewart Vigil: On February 10, Sanesha Stewart, a young trans woman of color, was murdered in her apartment in the Bronx. Please join Family, Friends and Community Members for a Community Vigil to Honor the Memory and Celebrate her life.
When: Saturday, April 5, 2008 - 1:00pm to 3:00pm
Where: Bronx Community Pride Center, 448 East 149th Street, Bronx, New York (2 train to 3rd ave./149th Street Station)

The Vigil will be followed by a reception at the Bronx Community Pride Center. For more information call: 718-292-4368 or 1-866-4GAYCARE

Donations: If you would like to make a financial contribution to the family of to help pay for funeral expenses please send a check or money order to: Evelyn Stewart, 3529 Tieman Ave. Apt 2, Bronx, NY 10469.

Other reactions:
Sanesha was a client at the Sylvia Rivera Law Project where Holly volunteers and, even though she never met Sanesha, she posted her thoughts at Feministe ("Sanesha Stewart is dead and I have only tears and frustration for her," Feb. 12, 2008). She links up to other reactions as well.

Cara, over at The Curvature, takes a look at the initial and problematic coverage of the murder by the New York Daily News ("On the Murder of Sanesha Stewart," Feb. 13, 2008).

Jack, at Angry Brown Butch, writes about the murder in the context of hate crime legislation that does not include transgender people ("Sanesha Stewart, Larry King and why hate crime legislation won't help," Feb. 20, 2008).

And, at The Washington Post's The Root blog, journalist Kai Wright ponders the reasons behind the wildly different reactions regarding the murder of queer folk ("Queer, Dead and Nobody Cares," Feb. 26, 2008).

Update: More shocking details emerge in murder of gay man in Mexico

Reports of violent murders of LGBT people throughout Latin America are unfortunately still common but a few days ago there was one particular murder in in Acapulco, Mexico, that shocked me based on the few details that were reported in media.

The body of 48-year old Alejandro Fuentes Mejia was found on the morning of February 21st with his hands tied behind his back in a dirt road that cut through a park near his place of employment.

Mejia had last been seen the day before at his place of work - the Institute of Social Security and Services - and was still wearing his work uniform. His body showed signs of torture and indications that he had been stoned to death.

The most shocking part? A sign made out of yellow cardboard that was left on the body that read "This is what happens to me for going around infecting people with AIDS."

When I first wrote about this murder on February 25th, I chided mexican newspaper La Cronica de Hoy for their speculative headline ("For spreading AIDS, an employee of ISSSTE is executed in Acapulco") and also wrote the following:

Though I can't assume that the man was gay, the language in the note is striking because it is the same language that the extreme right in Latin America uses against the gay community when blaming it for the general ills of a society (as do homophobic extreme right wing bigots in the United States). It wouldn't surprise me at all if this turns out to be a hate crime against a gay man although I doubt there'll be much follow-up.

My hunch was right.

On Feb. 26th, Mexican LGBT web portal Anodis.com published a follow up story that revealed a few more details.

1. There was one additional message written on the cardboard sign that read "This is what happens to me for having infected my son with AIDS."

2. According to the Anodis.com article, the man was HIV positive and gay and held an administrative post at the clinic where he worked.

3. Several LGBT rights and HIV-prevention organizations such as the Guerrero State Gay Association Against AIDS, Catholics fof the Right to Chose, Living with Chilpancingo and the Democratic Network and Sexuality are demanding a full investigation as well as passage of a hate crimes bill.

I expressed doubt that the crime would be resolved so I am glad that Anodis.com has followed up and that these organizations are putting pressure on the Guerrero State government to find the murderers and take them to justice.

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