[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. Nobody reported the murder of Gwen Araujo. She is born with male genitalia and raised as a boy by her family, who call her Eddie. [70], Sylvia Guerrero, Araujo's mother, worked as a legal assistant at a San Jose law firm, but as of 2016 was homeless due to PTSD from the incident. NEWARK19E-C-18OCT02-MT-HO Jos Merl, who cried in anguish about having sex with Araujo, then struck her with a frying pan and a can of food. Cazares and Nabors have long been out of custody. Jury selection for the trial of Magidson, Jos Merl, and Cazares began on March 15, 2004. Trans people are being killed in record numbers. That's not a world in which I want to live or most people want to live in. [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). She was the oldest of 11 children to immigrant parents from Irapuato, Mexico. Araujo's remains are cremated. It was raining. She taught them how to pick wild blackberries and catch salmon from the creek by their house, a place still close to her heart. During a police interrogation, Nabors went into detail about what happened and who was involved. Guerrero is the mother of slain transgender teen Gwen Araujo, 17, of Newark. On the night of Oct. 3, 2002, Araujo attended a party at a house rented by Jos and Paul Merl. "[22], After Araujo was brought back into the house, Magidson grabbed at her skirt and underwear in an attempt to expose her genitals. NEWARK, Calif., -- The murder of Gwen Araujo in 2002 marked a turning point in the fight for transgender rights. Make Muse | For Smart + Creative Young Women. Memorial for Gwen Araujo Gwen Araujo was mourned in a public funeral at St. Edwards Catholic Church in Newark on October 25, 2002. Sunseri said. The men became suspicious that Araujo was not biologically female because she did not let them touch her genitalia. "[20] Brown said the four men were out at a club together and did not return to the house until after midnight. "[15] According to Nabors, Magidson added "I don't know what I'm going to do", and Nabors replied, "Whatever you do, make sure you don't make a mess. NEWARK, Calif. (KGO) -- She was killed 20 years ago. Magidson, 24, of Fremont and Jason Cazares and Jose Merel, both 24 and from Newark, are being tried on murder and hate-crime charges and could face life in prison if convicted. If you or a loved one are experiencing a mental health crisis and need to connect with a qualified LGBTQ+ crisis responder. One night Gwen decided to go to a nearby house party. Ciara-Kiona Purvis September 11, 2022 Interpersonal Communication A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo story is based on a true story. [8], Araujo first met Michael Magidson, Jos Merl, Jaron Nabors, and Jason Cazares in late August or early September 2002. Jose Merel hit her in the head with a frying pan and a can of soup. Prosecuting attorney Lamiero used male pronouns and her birth name to refer to Araujo, saying the defendants had decided "that the wages of [Gwen] Araujo's sin of deception were death". [6] Her parents divorced when she was 10 months old. Questions, comments or concerns about this article may be sent to [emailprotected]. 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. She is born with male genitalia and raised as a boy by her family, who call her Eddie. At one point, he said, he saw Magidson choking Araujo and pulled Magidson's arm off the victim. Gwensmurder spurred the first Trans March in 2003. Nabors agreed to testify against his friends in exchange for a reduced manslaughter charge. [58] After the trial, one of the jurors stated in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle that the murder conviction was because "The community standard is not and cannot be that killing is something a reasonable person would have done that night" but not hate crimes since the murder was believed to have been committed not because Araujo was transgender, but to "cover up a situation that had gotten out of control". A driverless Waymo vehicle nearly drove itself right into a trench at a San Francisco construction site, an Instagram video posted Friday shows. But the murder of Gwen Araujo is still important today. Jose Merel and Magidson had been sexually intimate with Araujo on other occasions. All Rights Reserved. Araujo was born with male genitalia but her immediate family noticed early on that she identified more easily with being a girl than a boy. Sylvia Guerrero spoke at the first Trans March held on the Friday before the Pride Parade in San Francisco. Police began to interview the party-goers, and one of them led the police to the Merls' house. And likely even more have forgotten the woman at the center of the media storm and trial proceedings that followed: Gwens mother. After Araujo was knocked unconscious, Magidson bound her wrists and ankles, then she was wrapped in a comforter to minimize the amount of blood staining the carpet, before being carried to the garage of the home. At least 48 trans people were killed in 2021, making it the deadliest year for transgender people in the United States, where the majority of victims are Black and Latinx. This is the narrative that has persisted since shortly after Gwen's murder, but are there reasons to believe that this version of events isn't quite true? Nabors said Cazares and Magidson had first brought Araujo, whom the group knew as an attractive 19-year-old named "Lida," to the Merel home in late August or early September 2002. [25] Jos Merl became concerned that Araujo was bleeding on the couch and ordered her off it. The elderly woman was a victim of recent storms. Gwen Araujo was a 17-year-old transgender teenager who lived in Newark, Calif. with her mother, Sylvia Guerrero. I have a family. 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. (AP Photo/Anda Chu, Pool) POOL PHOTO, Defendant Jose Merel listens to the testimony of his younger brother, Emmanuel Merel, during Jose Merel's murder trial in Alameda Superior Court on Thursday, April 21, 2004, in Hayward, Calif. Emmanuel Merel testified that he tried to push Eddie "Gwen" Araujo that he tried to push her out the door to safety in the chaos that followed the discovery that she was biologically male. Transgender activists attended the trial and condemned the strategy to blame Araujo for her own death. Feb. 24, 1985At age 14, Eddie tells his mom that he feels like a girl trapped in a boy's body. We reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. The youngest man charged, Jaron Nabors, then19, led police to Gwens body, hogtied and weighted down with rocks in a shallow grave in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and then testified against the others. ",[20] and the men with whom she had had sexual relations became enraged and violent. Manny later testified that he tried to get Araujo out of the house but was stopped by the other men. Before Gwens death, Guerrero was a legal assistant and had a 401(k) pension account. Merl and Magidson were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years. Most people in their neighborhood called her mom.. The messages offer a glimpse into the government crackdown that spurred a UN probe into human rights abuses. At the sentencing of the suspects, Araujo's mother, Sylvia Guerrero, said that the murder and court process (which lasted three years) had taken an emotional toll on her and that it had affected her relationship with her children. His first parole board hearing had just gotten underway in Chowchilla on Wednesday when he told the parole board he needed more self-help, including drug and alcohol treatment. Several members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church picketed Araujo's funeral with hateful placards. "I didn't understand. It was shocking, Guerrero said. We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. This is the life and death story of 17-year-old Gwen Araujo. [45] In his opening statement, the defense attorney for Magidson argued that he should not be charged with murder, rather manslaughter at worst, under California law. And was stuck 10-2 in favor of acquitting Jos Merl and Jason Cazares of the same charge. J. Tony Serra, Cazares' attorney, asked Emmanuel Merel why he had not called police the night of the attack. Her older sister, Pearl Sunseri, said Araujo let her hair grow out and started to wear makeup. Michael Magidson told a parole board on Wednesday that he wasnt ready for release. The first trial started on April 14, 2004 and ended in a hung jury against Magidson, Merel and Cazares. The jury finds Michael Magidson and Jos Merl guilty of second-degree murder. [50], The second trial began on May 31, 2005. The law requires that juries must be informed that they are forbidden from making decisions based on any victim's gender or sexual orientation. She got a grant from the Horizons Foundation to speak at schools about what it is like to raise a transgender child and the challenges transgender youth face in society. Cazares and Nabors were also at the house, as was Paul Merl's girlfriend, Nicole Brown. She lost her job as a legal assistant and ended up losing her home. 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. [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? In life, Gwen dreamed of being a part of San Franciscos transgender community and its history. During the trial, the defense maintained that Araujo deceived the men into non-consensual sex by not revealing her biological gender and that the men reacted out of rage when they killed her. [75][76][77] The law put California on record as declaring it contrary to public policy for defendants to be acquitted or convicted of a lesser included offense on the basis of appeals to "societal bias". "[15] Brown testified that she tried to comfort Merl after the discovery, saying "It's not your fault. "[15][24] Jos Merl became angry and struck her in the head with a can of food, denting the can and opening a cut on her head,[24] and then he struck her again with a frying pan. Emmanuel Merel said he later had left the house with his older brother, Paul Merel, and the brother's girlfriend, Nicole Brown. He is expected to resume testimony Monday. I cant tell youhow many people have told me, because of your daughter, I am free to be who I am.. NEWARK, Calif. - The 2002 murder of Gwen Araujo marked a turning point in the fight for transgender rights. East Bay native Malaika Fraley is an award-winning criminal justice reporter and formerly covered courts for the Bay Area News Group. By this time, Araujo's mother was able to legally change her daughter's name to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo. | Olivia Cruz Mayeda/The Standard Guerrero always knew Gwen's relationship to her gender was different from other kids. [82], Gwen Araujo Memorial Transgender Education Fund. [62] Attorney Gloria Allred represented Araujo's family. Magidson testified that Nabors admitted he had strangled Araujo. Although they were given the option of convicting the men of second-degree murder or manslaughter, they were unable to proceed past the first-degree murder deliberations. 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. Guerrero has been unable to return to work and now shuffles her belongings from relatives' houses using a borrowed car from her friend. [30], Magidson testified that it was instead Nabors who strangled her and struck her with the shovel,[32] and Cazares testified that he never struck her and did not see her die. Gwen Araujos brutal death two decades ago drew international attention and prompted the passage of a law in her name, as well as a movie about her life. Merl refused to answer the prosecutor's questions about how Araujo died. [8], Paul Merl was released after Brown and Emmanuel Merl told the police that he had left the scene with them. [22] Brown testified that she warned Araujo that the men were "very angry", but upon exiting through the front door, Araujo was confronted and forced back inside the house by Magidson, Nabors, and Cazares. [30], Nabors received an 11-year sentence on August 25, 2006. Araujo was born with male genitalia but her immediate family noticed early on. Three men are suspected of killing the 17-year-old who frequently dressed like a young woman. 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