HOUSTON
—
The
fatal
shooting
of
a
gay
lobbyist
in
Houston
has
shocked
many
of
his
friends
who
spent
time
with
him
on
the
night
of
his
death
at
a
fund-raiser
for
a
lesbian
politician.
Ross
Allyn
was
killed
at
his
home
on
Nov.
21,
according
to
Houston
Police
Department
officials.
The
Harris
County
Medical
Examiner’s
office
ruled
Allyn’s
death
a
homicide.
The
autopsy
report,
released
on
Monday,
indicated
that
Allyn
sustained
a
fatal
gunshot
wound
to
the
back
of
his
neck.
Allyn,
who
had
attended
a
fund-raiser
for
city
controller
candidate
Annise
Parker
on
Nov.
20,
was
found
just
inside
the
front
door
of
his
burning
home
a
few
hours
later
by
firefighters,
who
were
summoned
around
4
a.m.
on
Nov.
21.
Neighbors
reported
hearing
noises
inside
Allyn’s
home
about
the
time
the
fire
started.
His
friends
stood
stunned
outside
his
burned
home
the
afternoon
after
the
fire.
Fire
investigators
Roy
Paul
and
Leo
Gonzales
talked
with
friends
of
the
victim
outside
the
house.
They
said
little,
but
by
the
afternoon
after
the
fire,
they
were
aware
that
they
were
dealing
with
a
homicide.
Parker,
a
lesbian
and
current
city
council
member,
said
she
learned
about
Allyn’s
death
soon
after
the
fire
was
extinguished.
“At
first
we
wondered
if
he
had
awakened,
found
the
house
on
fire
and
tried
to
get
out,”
Parker
said.
“I
got
a
phone
call
early
on
Friday
morning,
and
at
that
time,
I
was
told
that
homicide
had
been
called
in.”
Parker,
a
close
friend
of
Allyn,
said
the
news
came
as
a
tremendous
shock.
“So
many
folks
had
seen
him
the
night
before
at
the
fund-raiser,”
she
said.
Allyn
attended
the
event
with
a
friend.
Sue
Lovell,
a
lesbian
who
lost
her
bid
for
the
City
Council
seat,
said
she
talked
with
Allyn
that
evening.
“I
walked
him
to
the
door,”
she
said.
“I
watched
him
walk
out.”
When
she
heard
the
news
the
next
day,
Lovell
said
she
was
devastated.
“He
had
a
good
heart.”
Another
friend,
Nixon
Wheat,
said
he
spoke
with
Allyn
by
phone
about
11
p.m.
on
Nov.
20,
and
that
he
seemed
to
be
in
good
spirits.
“That
was
the
last
we
heard
of
him,”
said
Wes
Robbins,
another
friend
who
stood
outside
the
charred
house
the
afternoon
after
the
fire.
Allyn
was
a
lobbyist
who
fought
City
Hall
for
clients
ranging
from
retail
shops
to
low-income
housing
units.
Most
recently,
he
won
a
10-year,
$178
million
retail
contract
for
Paradies
IAH-LLC
at
Bush
Intercontinental
Airport.
In
1997,
Allyn,
a
former
aide
to
City
Council
member
Ben
Reyes,
was
snared
in
an
FBI
sting
involving
allegations
of
bribing
city
officials
that
later
sent
Reyes
and
Houston
Port
Commissioner
Betti
Maldonado
to
prison.
A
judge
later
threw
out
the
charges
against
Allyn.
“He
was
a
very
effective
lobbyist,”
Parker
said.
“You
could
tell
him,
‘no,’
and
he
would
keep
coming
back.
He
was
very
persistent,
and
he
never
took
it
personally.”
The
way
in
which
Allyn
was
killed
has
left
friends
wondering
what
happened
inside
his
home.
“Right
now,
I’m
at
a
loss
to
think
of
the
scenario,”
Wheat
said.
He
wondered
about
what
he
calls
“a
new
class
of
con
artists”
who
Wheat
said
have
begun
preying
on
affluent
gay
men
in
the
last
few
years.
He
said
these
con
artists
are
straight
men
who
pose
as
gays.
“They
use
their
physical
beauty
to
get
into
the
lives
of
wealthy
gay
men.
To
me,
it’s
on
the
level
of
a
hate
crime,”
he
said.
Houston
Police
Department
homicide
investigators
called
on
local
gay
citizens
to
help
in
their
investigation.
Police
officials
said
five
investigators
are
assigned
to
the
Allyn
case.
A
memorial
service
for
Allyn
was
conducted
Nov.
25.
He
is
survived
by
a
brother,
Mark
Allyn
and
wife,
Dorothy,
of
Dallas;
sister,
Mary
Lynn
Miller
of
Philadelphia,
Pa.;
another
brother,
Danny
Allyn
of
Oklahoma
City,
Okla.;
and
several
nieces
and
nephews.
