but none of the four men took the thought seriously. he testified. [68] By 2005, Guerrero had spoken to more than 20 schools. A psychologist called by the defense tells the jury that a young man is likely to panic and overreact with violence if he finds out that a woman he was sexually intimate with turns out to be biologically male. I cant tell youhow many people have told me, because of your daughter, I am free to be who I am.. July 4, 1999 At age 14, Eddie tells his mom. [30] After this, the defendants' testimonies diverge. Brandon, then 13, and Michael, then 10, lost their sister and in many ways, their mother. [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. Seventeen states now have bans on the use of gay and trans panic defenses. Watch the ABC7 Originals documentary, "Being Gwen: A Life and Death Story," streaming now in the video player above and on the ABC Owned Television Stations' connected TV Apps: ABC7 Bay Area, ABC30 Central California, ABC7 Los Angeles, ABC7 New York, ABC7 Chicago, 6abc Philadelphia, ABC13 Houston, and ABC11 Raleigh-Durham. [80], Jason Cazares was released from prison in July 2012. Loving son to Sylvia Guerrero of Newark and Edward Araujo of Brawley. I don't think most jurors are going to think it's OK to engage someone in sexual activity knowing they assume you have one sexual anatomy when you don't. He also said that he and Jose Merel had been alone in a bedroom with Araujo, where they engaged in some flirtatious petting. Gwen Araujo was a transgender teenager from the SF Bay Area who was killed 20 years ago by men who claimed they were deceived by her sexual identity. One can debate the propriety of one choosing to identify with a gender other than the one they were born with. Justice for Araujo was delayed. Eddie then began transitioning as a woman and called herself Gwen, after her favorite singer Gwen Stefani. Loving son to Sylvia Guerrero of Newark and Edward Araujo of Brawley. He walked alone to a 7- Eleven store, bought a pack of gum and went to a friend's house to spend the night, he said. Now at 58, she wears flip-flops and jean shorts. Here's what happened to Gwen Araujo, a transgender teen from the San Francisco Bay Area. [4][5] In some contemporary news reports and during the first trial of the perpetrators, Gwen Araujo was misgendered and referred to by her deadname. Eddie then began transitioning as a woman and called herself Gwen, after her favorite singer Gwen Stefani.According to court testimony, Araujo, whom the men knew . [15][16], Nicole Brown, who was dating Paul Merl (Jos's older brother) and was acquainted with Araujo, said that she and Araujo had engaged in a physical fight after Brown challenged Araujo to strip for the men. In 2014, that law was strengthened by Gov. Gwen Araujo was a 17-year-old transgender woman from Newark, California. Jaron Nabors pleads guilty to voluntary manslaughter and agrees to testify against his three friends in exchange for an 11 year prison term. Jose Merel and Magidson had been sexually intimate with Araujo on other occasions. Her father was a mushroom farmer for the Campbell Soup Company in Pescadero, where she was raised. Her hair is dyed black and falls flat against her back. They viciously beat and strangled Gwento death at a Newark house party on Oct. 4,2002, after they confirmed she was biologically male. Paul Merl was quickly released because his girlfriend came forward to the . 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. When Gwen was 8, Guerrero stopped her daughter as she was getting out of the car for school and asked her if she knew she was a boy. Sylvia was relentless, Dufty said. Vigils and marches seeking justice for Araujo were held in several San Francisco Bay Area cities. Prospective jurors were asked if they knew any lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender people; whether they knew any recently married same-sex couples; whether they had met any transgender people; or whether they had seen a "movie or theatrical performance depicting the activities of a transgender person". Cherished brother to Pearl and Jesus Serrano of CA, Rachel Araujo of Bakersfield, Brandon Guerrero-Bacot of Newark and Michael West of Newark. Gwen loved going to the city because she could be herself there.. That's not a world in which I want to live or most people want to live in. Gwensmurder spurred the first Trans March in 2003. The elderly woman was a victim of recent storms. Sylvia Guerrero has faced hardship since Araujo's death. Under cross-examination, Emmanuel Merel said he had gone to the police two weeks after the slaying because police had wrongly arrested Paul Merel for the crime. Gwen Amber Rose Araujo (February 24, 1985 - October 4, 2002 [1]) was an American teenager who was murdered in Newark, California. Over the course of the teens life, Guerrero learned how to better support her daughter in a transphobic world. a GoFundMe page that raises donations on her behalf. [11] The night they met Araujo, she flirted with all four men and they smoked marijuana together. She was loving, vibrant, and beautiful. Nobody reported the murder of Gwen Araujo. Guerrero has few possessions at this point, but she holds on to the lessons Gwen taught her. The four defendants in the murder of Gwen Araujo are being sentenced to prison on January 27, 2006. He took the stand Thursday afternoon -- his 21st birthday -- and described how, the first night he met Araujo that summer, he had gotten the "crazy idea" she might have been a man. Especially in today's society, she would have been rejected if not harmed had she been so open about it. Loves the Beach. NEWARK, Calif. (KGO) -- She was killed 20 years ago. A recent family photograph shows Eddie Araujo holding his niece Arianna. Araujo usually checked in with her mother, so when she did not come home the day after the party, her mother called the police on October 5 to report her missing. Copyright 2023 KGO-TV. Gwens mother is one of the victims that transphobic violence leaves behind. "I didn't understand. A few weeks later they also arrested Cazares. Gwen Araujo's murder brought about several changes in California law. 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. Four men brutally murdered her. It's who she was. She says she is excited to return to actively working on the cause. NEWARK, Calif. - The 2002 murder of Gwen Araujo marked a turning point in the fight for transgender rights. Gwen Araujo was a 17-year-old transgender teenager who lived in Newark, Calif. with her mother, Sylvia Guerrero. (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. [30] At some point, the assault resumed. The 17-year-old from the San Francisco Bay Area was punched, beaten and. I dont have my nails done. She went on to say, "It feels like we lost our mom. 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. [52] Serra also argued that Cazares took no active role in killing her. 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. I dont have contacts anymore. Back in Tracy, Guerrero examined a broken taillight on her car while holding her daughters framed picture in her left hand. The murder also brought disdain from far-right religious groups who condemned Araujo for living as a transgender woman. 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. He pleaded to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Michael Magidson and Jos Merl were sentenced to 15 years to life for killing Gwen Araujo. Magidson testified that Nabors admitted he had strangled Araujo. Guerrero became an advocate for transgender rights. The jury is unable to reach a guilty verdict and the judge declares mistrial. [50], The second trial began on May 31, 2005. Araujo also became an inspiration in the transgender community. In her death, she has literally saved thousands of lives. Guerrero said. Araujo was killed at a house party 14 years ago . Fred Phelps and the members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church promised to picket the funeral,[36] but did not.,[64] there were people there that picket with signs but friends wore angel wings to block casket from signs. 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. When Gwen was murdered that night, it was the beginning of a life sentence for me and my family, Guerrero said. When they killed her, Guerrero said, they killed a part of me.. By this time, Araujo's mother was able to legally change her daughter's name to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo. She frequently encounters psychological triggers that derail her days. They had met her walking in the middle of the street, drinking a beer. Jaron Nabors. "[59], Michael Magidson and Jos Merl were sentenced in January to 15 years to life in prison, for second-degree murder. During Magidson's testimony, a tape of his initial interview with the police was shown, in which an investigator was recorded coaching him to use the trans panic defense: "You'd be surprised. The civil rights leader made several notable appearances in the Bay Area, where he paved the way for future leaders like SFs first Black mayor, London Breed. Earlier in the day, Alameda Superior Court Judge Harry R. Sheppard ordered the media not to photograph Nabors. Guerrero is the mother of slain transgender teen Gwen Araujo, 17, of Newark. [12] Later, she engaged in oral sex with Magidson and anal sex with Merl. In 2010, then-Gov. As she struggles to heal and support herself, Guerrero has also found a deep appreciation for the impact of Gwens life. [75], In September 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill No. It was warm out, and the air smelled like basil from a nearby farm. | Olivia Cruz Mayeda/The Standard Guerrero always knew Gwen's relationship to her gender was different from other kids. NEWARK, Calif., -- The murder of Gwen Araujo in 2002 marked a turning point in the fight for transgender rights. Gwens murder and Guerreros advocacy have led to legislative change. On their living room sofa, Guerrero and her daughter planned out the future. [33], Two days after Araujo was reported missing, a friend of Jaron Nabors described him as appearing distraught. Sylvia Guerrero had never even heard the word transgender until her 17-year-olddaughter Gwen Araujo, born a son named Eddie, was brutally murdered. In at least one of the trials, a "trans panic defense"an extension of the gay panic defensewas employed. [7], Araujo came out as transgender in 1999 at the age of 14, and began using the name Gwen after her favorite musician, Gwen Stefani, but also went by Wendy and Lida. Guerrero also knew her daughter had a drinking problem and brought up rehab. Traumatized by her daughters murder in the East Bay city of Newark, the ensuing trials and an onslaught of invasive media attention, Guerrero has had a hard time finding a job. Araujo was born with male genitalia but her immediate family noticed early on. [31] Merl was concerned with cleaning Araujo's blood off the couch[30] and carpet before retreating to his room so the others would not see him crying.[23]. On October 4, 2002, four young men brutally murdered a beautiful, 17-year-old transgender teenager named Gwen Araujo. Nicole Brown, Paul Merl and Emmanual Merl left the house while Araujo was still bleeding in the living room. Gwen Araujo murder 14 years later: Transgender, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), ACE train service cancelled after more mudslides at Niles Canyon, Gwen Araujo murder 14 years later: Transgender teens killers face parole. This is the life and death story of 17-year-old Gwen Araujo. Nabors takes police to the site where they buried Araujo's body. Gwen Araujo was a transgender teenager from the SF Bay Area who was killed 20 years ago by men who claimed they were deceived by her sexual identity. 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