Jun 17, 2005   | COMMENTS     

PITTSBURGH — Jury deliberations continued early this week in the murder trial of a Monessen, Pa., man accused of abducting, robbing and killing a Wilkinsburg banker after the male victim allegedly made sexual advances toward the accused, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported. Robert Stringer, 22, killed Daniel Lynch, 56, on Jan. 11, 2004, but defense attorney Thomas Farrell said Stringer survived gay rape when he was a child, and suffered emotional disturbances triggered by Lynch’s alleged advances, the Post-Gazette reported. Farrell argued that Stringer is guilty only of third-degree murder, but prosecutors quoted psychiatrist Dr. Bruce Wright in alleging Stringer’s disorder is that he is clinically antisocial. Prosecutors allege that Stringer would continually lie to cover up his intent to rob Lynch for money to buy drugs, the Post-Gazette reported. The prosecution seeks a life prison term for Stringer, while a third-degree conviction could result in a maximum 20 to 40 years in prison.

Defense calls witness in Calif. trans killing case a liar
HAYWARD, Calif. (AP) — A defense attorney in the trial of three men accused of killing a transgendered teenager hammered at the credibility of the prosecution’s key witness, saying he’s lying to save himself. Witness Jaron Nabors initially also faced murder charges in the October 2002 death of 17-year-old Gwen Araujo. He was allowed to plead to manslaughter in exchange for his testimony against the others: Michael Magidson, Jose Merel and Jason Cazares, all 25. Prosecutors claim Araujo, who was born a boy named Edward but grew up to believe her true identity was as a woman, was murdered in a calculated revenge attack when the men discovered that the flirty girl two of them had sex with was biologically male. A previous trial last year ended in a hung jury.

Scottish judges reject appeal based on alleged gay threats
EDINBURGH — Appeals judges last week rejected claims that detectives forced witnesses to lie at a murder trial after threatening to expose them as gay, the Scotsman reported. Stuart Gair, 42, has worked for nearly two decades to clear his name after he was found guilty of a 1989 stabbing in an alleged mugging gone wrong in a Glasgow area frequented by gays, according to the Scotsman. Gair alleges that a conspiracy by detectives contributed to the verdict, but judges in the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh said the witnesses in question changed their stories under influence from Gair or pressure from his supporters, the newspaper reported. The victim, Peter Smith, died due to stab wounds to the chest, and one witness said he saw Gair pull out a knife prior to the incident, the Scotsman reported. That witness later said police threatened to tell his family and friends he was gay, and he said the threat scared him into making up his testimony, according to the newspaper.

Police scrutinize Christian activist after anti-gay fliers appear in Canada
EDMONTON — Police in Western Canada are investigating a Christian activist after 2,000 leaflets that level attacks at gays were distributed, the CBC News reported. Bill Whatcott of Regina reportedly is behind fliers that refer to gay unions as “sodomite marriage” and use explicit language to detail alleged gay sex practices, CBC reported. “The material is offensive and it’s an affront on the basic tenets of our society, which is about multiculturalism, tolerance and peaceful co-existence,” Constable Steve Camp of the Edmonton police hate crimes unit told the CBC. Gay activists said they will take the case to the Alberta Human Rights & Citizenship Commission if the police investigation does not net criminal charges, CBC reported.

Scranton priest pleads guilty to sex abuse charge in NYC
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A suspended Roman Catholic clergyman pleaded guilty last week to a felony count of attempted sexual abuse in New York, admitting to groping a former altar boy in a Greenwich Village hotel room during an overnight trip, the Manhattan district attorney’s office said. Rev. Albert M. Liberatore Jr., of Scranton, had already pleaded guilty in Luzerne County to sexually assaulting the same teen-ager over a three-year period. Liberatore, 41, was charged last year after the victim, now 20, told police he became involved with the priest when he ...