Transgender teen hate murder
Three men were charged last Friday with the hate-crime murder of 17-year-old transgender youth Gwen Araujo.
Araujo was killed at a party in Newark, California, on 3 October, but her body was not discovered until last Tuesday after one of the suspects directed police to the burial site 150 miles away in a remote part of the Sierra foothills.
Three men in their 20s are being held without bail on suspicion of beating Araujo before strangling her with a rope, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Araujo, who named herself Gwen after No Doubt singer Gwen Stefani, reportedly attended the party in Newark on 3 October dressed in a peasant’s blouse and miniskirt. According to media reports, Araujo’s transgenderism was discovered in a party rest-room by another girl, who then told other patrons.
It is alleged the three suspects began beating Araujo and gashed her head with a blunt object before taking her into a garage and strangling her.
Police say the investigation into Araujo’s murder is continuing.
