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The tragic death of 17 year old Gwen Araujo in October 2002 brought transphobia to the forefront of both Bay Area and worldwide consciousness. While attending a party that October 4th night in her mother's skirt and flawless make-up, her supposed friends discovered that she was in fact "biologically" a male. They then severely beat and strangled her. Her body was found 150 miles east of the notoriously open-minded city of San Francisco in a shallow grave.  What might be equally disturbing is that the murder occurred in the garage of the house, while a dozen young adults partied nearby. Araujo's friend Crystal Mason, 17, was enraged. "She was at a large party, taken to the garage, beaten and then strangled. No one heard? No one helped?"Since the murder, more people have started to speak up. Transsexual rights and the elimination of hate crimes are being addressed everywhere from the schools to the courts. And after a year of mourning, Gwen Araujo's mother Sylvia Guerrero became a dedicated activist, speaking often at press conferences, attending community meetings, joining the National Transgender Action Coalition and much more. In May, Guerrero brought her activism to the courts to request the legal name change of her slain daughter. Gwen had been living as a woman since the age of fourteen, and chose her name in honor of her favorite singer, Gwen Stefani of the band No Doubt.
Meanwhile, the trial of Araujo's murderers continues to play out. 24 year-olds Michael Magidson, Jose Merel and Jason Cazares, received news of a mistrial on June 22nd. The jury deliberated for nine days after weighing the facts from the three month trial. It was argued to be a case of manslaughter rather than murder by the defense lawyers because of the client's "shame and revulsion at discovering he had had sex with a man." A fourth man, 21-year-old Jaron Nabors, pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter last February and became a witness for the prosecution, providing important testimony of how he and his friends had questioned Gwen's gender weeks before the killing. This opened the door for the possibility of the murder as premeditated. You can get ongoing news coverage and info on Gwen Araujo's legacy here.
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