undeRliRcs Posted July 27, 2005 Share Posted July 27, 2005 Defendant in transgender teen killing breaks down on stand By MICHELLE LOCKE, Associated Press Writer Wednesday, July 27, 2005 (07-27) 15:26 PDT Hayward, Calif. (AP) -- A defendant in the case of three men charged with murdering a transgender teenager broke down in tears Wednesday when a prosecutor asked him point-blank if one of his friends had acknowledged strangling Gwen Araujo. "Why don't you tell the truth," prosecutor Chris Lamiero asked defendant Jose Merel as he pressed him on whether co-defendant Michael Magidson had said he strangled the teenager, known to the men as "Lida." "I want you to tell me, tell the jurors ? did Mike tell you how Lida died?" Lamiero said as Merel hung his head, eyes averted from Magidson sitting just feet away at the defense table. "I can't answer that," Merel said, wiping away tears. "Jose, Mike told you that he strangled Lida with the rope in the garage, didn't he?" Lamiero insisted. After Merel repeatedly refused to answer, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Harry Sheppard adjourned the case for lunch, telling deputies to keep Merel and Magidson apart. After the break, Merel answered the question calmly, saying Magidson had said that "if push came to shove" Merel should tell the police that Magidson had strangled Araujo. "You took it to mean he had done it, correct?" Lamiero said. "Yes," Merel said. Previous testimony has been sketchy on how the 17-year-old Araujo died. Merel, Magidson and a third man, Jason Cazares, all 25, are charged with first-degree murder in the death of Araujo, which prosecutors say happened after the teenager's biological identity was revealed in a showdown at Merel's house in Newark, a San Francisco suburb. The case was charged as a hate-crime. A previous trial ended with a hung jury after a defense attorney argued the killing was manslaughter committed in a passion provoked by sexual deception, an argument that angered Araujo's family and transgender advocates. The defendants met Araujo in late summer of 2002. According to earlier testimony, suspicions about her gender arose after Merel and Magidson, who both had sexual encounters with the teenager, compared notes. In October 2002, the debate was settled when a woman at the house grabbed Araujo's genitals, witnesses have testified. Jaron Nabors, who also was at the house that night, testified at both trials that Merel hit Araujo with a can and a frying pan. Nabors said he saw Magidson begin to pull a rope toward the teenager's neck but did not see the strangulation, although he said he later heard Magidson tacitly admit to it. The 22-year-old Nabors, who led police to Araujo's body buried in a shallow grave in the Sierra foothills, initially was charged with murder but was allowed to plead to manslaughter in exchange for testifying. The defense attacked Nabors' credibility, noting he has lied to police in the past. Although they agree Nabors is lying, defense attorneys have taken different approaches in their cases. Full story here: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n.../n134644D74.DTL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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