Parents call murder of gay son a hate crime

Brenda and Arthur Warren call on local authorities to file hate-crime charges in the death of their openly gay son

July 9, 2000
Web posted at: 11:25 p.m. EDT (0325 GMT)

GRANT TOWN, West Virginia (CNN) -- The parents of a murdered 26-year-old openly gay African-American want his killers charged with a hate crime.

Speaking out for the first time since the July 4 murder, Arthur and Brenda Warren said on Sunday they hoped the three white teenagers who police say confessed to killing Arthur Carl "J.R." Warren Jr. would be tried as adults.

"If it's not hate, what is it?" a tearful Brenda Warren told CNN. "I just want someone to tell me what it is."

"I want them, and my friends and my entire family want them to be tried as adults," Warren said.

Police said Warren Jr. was beaten to death in a house by two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old.

They then took Warren's body to a deserted road and ran over it several times with a car to disguise the murder as a hit-and-run, police said. Warren's body was found along side the roadway.

At the Warren family's church, the Rev. Nelson Staples appealed to worshippers to phone the local prosecutor to persuade him to charge the teenagers with a hate crime.

Police say Arthur Carl Warren, Jr.'s beating death was disguised as a hit-and-run

But Saturday, police said they had found no evidence that Warren's killing was a hate crime.

"In none of the statements that I received, no one that I've talked to thereafter has ever indicated to me that its cause was sexuality or the color of his skin," said Marion County Sheriff Ron Watkins. "Until I receive that evidence, I can't very well say it was a hate crime."

The accused teenagers were scheduled to appear in court Thursday to determine whether they'll be tried as juveniles or adults, and will likely face murder and conspiracy charges, Watkins said.

Members of the local gay community have said they've seen evidence of gay intolerance in Grant Town, and they said they were convinced Warren's death was the result of a hate crime.

West Virginia's legislature recently decided against expanding the state's hate crime law to include gays.

CNN National Correspondent Bob Franken contributed to this report.

Funeral held for gay man slain in West Virginia
July 8, 2000
Gay rights activists say West Virginia killing is a 'hate crime'
July 7, 2000

Human Rights Campaign
FBI - Uniform Crime Reports - Hate Crime Statistics 1995

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.