Below, you'll find a timeline of how the life and death of Gwen unfolded. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act. Get the support you need. [19][42][43] During the formal entry of his plea, Judge Kenneth Burr warned Nabors that he could still be charged with murder if prosecutors found he was not "living up to your end of the bargain". I cant tell youhow many people have told me, because of your daughter, I am free to be who I am.. I still call her mom when I talk to her.. Araujo's murder was compared to the brutal death of Matthew Shepard four years earlier in Laramie, Wyoming. Jerry Brown. The law requires that juries must be informed that they are forbidden from making decisions based on any victim's gender or sexual orientation. Nabors testified that he stated he "couldn't believe that someone would ever do that, would be that deceitful" and that Jos Merl added "he was so mad he could still kick her a couple more times". [60], Gwen Araujo was mourned in a public funeral at St. Edwards Catholic Church in Newark on October 25, 2002. [61][81], Michael Magidson said he was not ready for release at his parole board hearing in 2016, and his request for parole was also opposed by Guerrero. Guerrero considered Magidson and Jason Cazares the principal actors in the killing. The first trial started on April 14, 2004 and ended in a hung jury against Magidson, Merel and Cazares. "Mike and Jaron were in front of the door," Merel testified in a Hayward courtroom. In 2005, California Gov. Gwen Amber Rose Araujo was a teenager who lived in Newark, California. A recent family photograph shows Eddie Araujo holding his niece Arianna. [25][31] Nabors testified that Magidson's assault was so severe it left a dent in the wall and cracked the plaster. He was awakened by loud voices and eventually emerged outside his room to observe a chaotic scene. [34], One of the jurors wrote a newspaper article after the mistrial; in it, he credited Cazares's defense attorney, Tony Serra, with introducing enough reasonable doubt about the veracity of the prosecution's witnesses, including both Brown (who had admitted to consuming more than a dozen beers that night) and Nabors (who was characterized as a liar and "chameleon", prone to exaggeration and eager to please in every social situation). Socially Sad and Mentally Arrogant: Boys Locker Room, The AFL-CIO must end union representation of law enforcement. In 2002, she would be brutally murdered by a group of men who uncovered that she was transgender. Sunseri said. Trans people are being killed in record numbers. Gwen Araujo was a 17-year-old transgender teenager who lived in Newark, Calif. with her mother, Sylvia Guerrero. [Gwen] lived every day of her life yearning and longing to be a girl in every sense of the word, so if anyone who didn't know her made her feel that way, why would she reveal that she is transgender? Eddie then began transitioning as a woman and called herself Gwen, after her favorite singer Gwen Stefani. Beto Lopez, Gwens childhood friend, remembered sneaking out of the house in their hometown of Newark to go to San Francisco Pride with Gwen in 2000. he testified. "[22], After Araujo was brought back into the house, Magidson grabbed at her skirt and underwear in an attempt to expose her genitals. Gwen Amber Rose Araujo (February 24, 1985 - October 4, 2002) [1] was an American trans teenager who was murdered in Newark, California at the age of 17. She was loving, vibrant, and beautiful. [2] She was murdered by four men, two of whom she had been sexually intimate with, who beat and strangled her after discovering that she was transgender. A shrine to Gwen Araujo, who was murdered at age 17 in 2002 by four men who discovered she was transgender, rests in her mother's home in Tracy, Calif., on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2022. NEWARK, Calif. (KGO) -- She was killed 20 years ago. Im kind of worried Ill get pulled over, she said, bent over and laughing, but I roll deep with angels.. Watch the ABC7 Originals documentary, "Being Gwen: A Life and Death Story," streaming now in the video player above.It's also available on the ABC Owned Television Stations' connected TV Apps: ABC7 Bay Area, ABC30 Central California, ABC7 Los Angeles, ABC7 New York, ABC7 Chicago, 6abc Philadelphia, ABC13 Houston, and ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. ". Make Muse | For Smart + Creative Young Women. Watch the ABC7 Originals documentary, "Being Gwen: A Life and Death Story," streaming now in the video player below. ", HAYWARD / Suspect's brother says he tried to aid Araujo / He testifies others blocked him from rescuing victim. Gwen was going to be 18 soon and had aspirations of going to beauty school. Several members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church picketed Araujo's funeral with hateful placards. [15][29] Brown recalled that after she had left with Paul Merl, they drove around the block and returned to the house to see Nabors and Cazares leaving in Magidson's truck. Anti-shock collar legislation has garnered widespread supportand controversyfrom animal welfare advocates. [36], After he was arrested, Nabors wrote a letter to a girlfriend in which he stated the defendants had discussed a "Soprano-type plan" to "kill the b and get rid of her body". She and Guerrero shared a deep love for the city for that reason, and in the year leading up to her murder, Gwen came to the city almost every weekend. She was the oldest of 11 children to immigrant parents from Irapuato, Mexico. I dont have my nails done. I think it was toxic anyway, keeping all those emotions in. The case became a rallying cry for transgender rights. The other two defendants pleaded guilty or no-contest to voluntary manslaughter. [14], Nabors pleaded guilty on February 24, 2003, to a lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter, which carried an 11-year prison sentence, along with a promise to testify against the other three defendants. At one point, he said, he saw Magidson choking Araujo and pulled Magidson's arm off the victim. She made a promise beside her daughters casket that she would be her voice until people stop dying for who they are. Cazares, Magidson, Merl:First trial:MistrialSecond trial: Gwen Amber Rose Araujo (February 24, 1985 October 4, 2002)[1] was an American trans teenager who was murdered in Newark, California at the age of 17. She wasnt mad. Feb. 24, 1985At age 14, Eddie tells his mom that he feels like a girl trapped in a boy's body. Her PTSD and memory problems leave her unable to return to her former career and force her to scrape by with help fromseveral crowdfunding campaigns, including a recent GoFundMe page. [78][79] The law further restricted the use of the gay/trans panic defense by amending California's manslaughter statute to prohibit defendants from claiming that they were provoked to murder by discovering a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity. Jury selection begins for the second trial. Nabors testified that Magidson strangled her with a rope and that Cazares struck her with a shovel,[11] but Nabors was returning from the garage and did not actually witness the act of strangulation. Merl refused to answer the prosecutor's questions about how Araujo died. She was killed 20 years ago. NEWARK, Calif. - The 2002 murder of Gwen Araujo marked a turning point in the fight for transgender rights. We still have a long way to go, because people like Gwen are still being murdered for whothey are and theresfamilies who are suffering like we are, said Guerrero, 52. [2] She was murdered by four men, two of whom she had been sexually intimate with, who beat and strangled her after discovering that she was transgender. [22], When Nabors and Cazares returned, Araujo was still conscious, bleeding from her head wound and sitting on the couch. [76], Jaron Nabors was released from prison some time before 2016. PLEASE VERIFY RIGHTS. The case was also the subject of a 2007 documentary, An episode of the Investigation Discovery channel series, This page was last edited on 13 January 2023, at 04:32. On the night of Oct. 3, 2002, Araujo attended a party at a house rented by Jos and Paul Merl. It instructed jurors not to let bias against a victim's gender identity or sexual orientation influence their decisions. Some call her mom., She didnt die in vain. Now at 58, she wears flip-flops and jean shorts. Guerrero, who was making good money as a legal assistant at a San Jose law firm when Gwen died, is now homeless, shuttling her neatly packed belongings between relatives homes in a friends borrowed car. Transgender activists attended the trial and condemned the strategy to blame Araujo for her own death. Edward "Gwen" Araujo, Jr. of Newark entered into rest Thursday, October 3, 2002. The case attracted national attention, both good and bad. That friend tipped off the police, and agreed to wear a microphone during a subsequent conversation with Nabors about the murder. The men had claimed a gay/trans panic, a murder defense later made illegal in California in Gwens name with the help of Guerreros activism. They viciously beat and strangled Gwento death at a Newark house party on Oct. 4,2002, after they confirmed she was biologically male. Transgender activists educated the family about what it means to be transgender and the proper use of pronouns. Theywere convicted at thesecond of two trials and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. Whether its riding public transit or waiting in line at the doctors office on a daily basis, the amount of trauma a trans person experiences is really unparalleled, and it adds up, Noyola said. In her death, shes allowed me to see how much I took for granted, Guerrero said. NEWARK, Calif., -- The murder of Gwen Araujo in 2002 marked a turning point in the fight for transgender rights. The 17-year-old from the San Francisco Bay Area was punched, beaten and eventually strangled to death when several men discovered she was a transgender woman. HAYWARD / Witness tells of friends' anger at being duped / He HAYWARD / Araujo begged for mercy, witness says, THIS IS A HANDOUT IMAGE. "When Gwen was murdered that night, it was the beginning of a life sentence for me and my family," Guerrero told the publication. She was fearless, she was angry. [23], She was then placed in the bed of a pick-up truck, and the four men drove her body four hours away, burying her near the Sierra Nevada mountains in a shallow grave in the El Dorado National Forest near Silver Fork Road in El Dorado County. Nabors described how Araujo had locked lips with all four of the men that night to blow marijuana smoke into their mouths in what he described as a "power hit." Her depression, anxiety and PTSD are so debilitating, Guerrero hasnt been able to find a full-time job. Lopez stood next to her on a packed BART station escalator. but none of the four men took the thought seriously. Days before the 20-year anniversary of her daughters murder, Guerrero stood in front of the TV at her sons apartment in Tracy and flipped through generic photos of Pescaderos foggy coastline. HANDOUT PHOTO ALSO RAN 10/22/02, 11/19/02, 12/22/02, 10/4/2003, Emmanuel Merel, the younger brother of defendant Jose Merel, testifies in the Eddie "Gwen" Araujo murder trial in Alameda Superior Court Thursday, April 21, 2004, in Hayward, Calif. Emmanuel testified that he tried to push the teenager out the door to safety in the chaos that followed the discovery of Araujo's gender. Her loss has multiplied outside of the public eye in a system unequipped to support her. Gwens murder played no small part inthe ongoing movement against trans violence and forequality and understanding, said Isa Noyola of theTransgender Law Center. When youre in a big family, youre either going to want a bunch of kids or youre not going to want any, she said. "I don't want him to be identified in the rec room at Santa Rita (jail).". Thats OK, Guerrero recalled saying. [22][25][27] Emmanuel Merl later testified he walked to a convenience store to buy gum, then went to a friend's house to spend the night. When Araujo was killed, Newark Memorial High School was preparing to stage a play on Shepard's death and the community drew comparisons between what happened to Shepard and how Araujo was killed. A month before Gwens murder, Guerrero decided to talk to Gwen about her future. LGBTQ+ resources are available: abc7news.com/TakeAction. [61] Magidson was denied parole again in September 2019. She just wanted to jump into the crowd.. Gwen, often called a woman, was really just a 90-pound girl withno chance against the four drunken youngmen, including two who had been sexually intimate with her, Guerrero said. My daughter in 2002 brought the trans community to the forefront, and changes began since then, said Guerrero, who returns to heractivism for the trans community with a speaking engagement in Fullerton next month. Still, there have been nearly 25slayings of transgender people in the United States so far in 2016 alone, according to Noyola, including the killing of Brandi Bledsoe in Cleveland last week. Guerrero became an advocate for transgender rights. The Alameda County coroner's report said Araujo died by strangulation and blunt force trauma to the head. The elderly woman was a victim of recent storms. "[17] The four men debated in late September whether Araujo was female, concluding that "something bad could happen" to her if she was not. [65][66], At the request of Guerrero, a judge posthumously changed the victim's legal name to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo on June 23, 2004. It's who she was. The four defendants in the murder of Gwen Araujo are being sentenced to prison on January 27, 2006. | Olivia Cruz Mayeda/The Standard, By clicking Subscribe you confirm you have read and agree to our. Jason Cazares struck a deal with prosecutors to avoid a third trial and accepted a six-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Check out Bay Area safety tracker, Bay Area Life; Sundays at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7, How the murder of transgender teenager Gwen Araujo unfolded. The fund's purpose was to support school-based programs in the nine-county Bay Area that promote understanding of transgender people and issues through annual grants. Manny later testified that he tried to get Araujo out of the house but was stopped by the other men. [6] Noyola said she remembers it as mostly non-trans people, a handful of folks, angry and grieving over Gwens murder. Guerrero is the mother of slain transgender teen Gwen Araujo, 17, of Newark. As the escalator ascended to the street, Gwen transformed. Ive always loved San Francisco, Guerrero said. Araujo was eventually strangled to death with a rope, tied up and taken by four of the men -- Jose Merel, Magidson, Cazares and Nabors -- in the back of a pickup truck to a camping area in the El Dorado National Forest where they buried her body. This is where I sleep now, she said, pointing to the bare floor of her sons living room. At a vigil later that evening at the LGBT Center in San Francisco, advocated lamented the men were not convicted of first-degree murder but still called the verdict a huge victory for the transgender rights. Court adjourned Thursday before Nabors could begin describing the night of the slaying. Now its a huge trans event that kicks off the San Francisco Pride weekend. When asked how she forced them, Nabors answered, "Through deception. Araujo was killed at a house party 14 years ago . If you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis and need to connect with a qualified LGBTQ+ crisis responder. 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