By LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Sep 20 2007, 2:31 PM |
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A gay rights group in Newark, N.J., today issued a letter to the city's mayor demanding that the execution-style murders of three college students in a Newark schoolyard in August be investigated as a possible anti-gay hate crime.
The murder of the three students and the shooting of a fourth student, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, stunned the city and became the subject of international news coverage.
Up until now, Newark police and the office of Mayor Cory Booker have suggested the motive for the crime was robbery since at least one of six suspects arrested in the case reportedly stole belongings from one or more of the victims.
The Blade has been investigating the hate crime angle for two weeks. A spokesperson for the mayor told the Blade last week the incident "was not a hate crime."
But in a letter to Booker today, Newark gay activist James Credle said he and other activists have learned that "at least one or more" of the victims were gay. He said authorities should also look into whether the victims were targeted because of their race. All were black.
Credle sent his letter on behalf of Newark's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer & Two-Spirited Concerns Group. The group released the letter to the press.
"Several young people, friends and classmates of [victims] Terrance Aeriel, Dashon Harvey, Iofemi Hightowner, and Natasha Aeriel have come forward," Credle wrote in his letter. "In their fear and grief, they are further driven to despair by the refusal of the city administration, the police, and the media to acknowledge the fact that some of the deceased were members and friends of their community.
"They ask, 'Why, when so much was said about the victims, about their promise, their accomplishments, the bright futures, was this important aspect of their lives, their very identities, suppressed?' Would that somehow diminish their value, or the tragedy of their deaths?"
"Therefore, this letter is an official document to inquire about the procedures to investigate the murders of Terrance Aeriel, Dashon Harvey, Iofemi Hightowner and abuse of Natasha Aeriel as hate/bias crimes in the City of Newark," Credle wrote in his letter.
"Further, we want to know why, although the murders were committed more than a month ago, the fact of the sexual orientation of the youth has never been a part of the media or public discourse of media regarding the murders," he said. "This happened despite the fact that several sources, including friends, boyfriends/lovers of at least one of the victims and perhaps one of the parents knew that one or more of the murdered students were gay."
New Jersey's statewide gay rights group, Garden State Equality, issued its own statement "strongly endorsing" Credle's letter and calling on Newark and state authorities to fully investigate whether the Newark murders were hate crimes.
The Garden State Equality statement says the group "recognizes that because the extent to which the victims may, or may not, have been members of the LGBTI community is not fully clear, this must be handled with sensitivity in its reporting."
In the weeks following the murders, police filed murder and robbery charges against six males in connection with the case. Three of the six are juveniles.
One of the adults, Jose Carranza, 28, of East Orange, N.J., is an illegal immigrant from Peru and had been arrested in the past for allegedly raping a 5-year-old girl, authorities said.
The others charged were Melvin Jovel, 18, of Elizabeth, N.J.; Rodolfo Godinez, 24, who was apprehended in Prince George's County, Md.; and Alexander Alfaro, 16, who was apprehended in Woodbridge, Va. Two 15-year-old males from the Newark area were also charged in the case.
Godinez was scheduled to appear at an extradition hearing Sept. 21 in Prince George’s County Circuit Court following the filing of legal papers in New Jersey to have him transferred to Essex County, N.J., where he would be arraigned on murder charges in connection with the deaths of the three students.
Police have said they linked the murders to the six suspects based on fingerprints found at the crime scene and the eyewitness account of Natasha Aeriel, 19, who remained conscious at the scene while suffering from a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities said she appears to be recovering well following a lengthy hospitalization and several surgical procedures.
Police said the incident occurred shortly before midnight on Aug. 4 on the grounds of Newark’s Mount Vernon Elementary School, which is located in a middle class neighborhood near where the four victims lived and grew up.
Authorities said none of the victims had ever been in trouble with the law and were considered model youths and citizens.
Natasha Aeriel and Dashon Harvey, 20, who died at the scene, were juniors at Delaware State University in Dover. Terrance Aeriel, 18, the brother of Natasha, and Iofemi Hightower, 20, were also enrolled at Delaware State University.
All four were close friends. The four were hanging out at the schoolyard on the night of the murders, as they often did, authorities said, because it was known as a gathering place for young people.
Police have said Natasha Aeriel told investigators that two of the six suspects were present on the school grounds when the four students arrived. Police said the other suspects arrived a short time later, a development that prompted the students to become worried and decide to leave. It was at that time that the suspects attacked the students, police said.
But police have declined to provide further details, other than to say that at least one of the suspects separated Natasha Aeriel from the others and shot her in the head, leaving her for dead.
The Newark Star Ledger reported police sources as saying the other three students were led down some steps to a wall beneath a set of bleachers. Authorities said the three were shot and killed execution style.
Authorities have said each of the three suspects has been linked to a local Newark gang, but they could not determine at this time whether the murders were part of gang-related activity.
Paul Loriquet, spokesperson for the Essex County, N.J., Prosecutor’s Office, said authorities are still investigating the case and his office has not released information about a motive for the killings.
“We know robbery was a factor because they were all charged with robbery,” Loriquet said. “But was that the motive? That is still under investigation.”
When asked if the murders could be hate crimes, Loriquet said, “All I can tell you is that all angles are being looked at very carefully in terms of a motive. Besides that, we really can’t comment any further at this date,” he said.
The Blade is following the story and will publish updates as circumstances warrant.
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