Brutal hate

Amancio Corrales

Following up on the recent killing of a transgender man in Yuma, Arizona, the sheriff's department, according to a report filed by Jeffrey Gautreaux in the Yuma Sun, says it's clearly shaping up as a hate crime:

Amancio Corrales, a 23-year-old Yuma man who was dressed as a woman when he was murdered, may have been the victim of a hate crime, according to the Yuma County Sheriff's Office.

"A hate crime is not ruled out," Sheriff's Capt. Eben Bratcher said. "Until we find who did it, we don't know the motive. The situation lends itself for one to believe that's the case. Thinking someone is a woman and then finding they were a man would not sit well with some people."

However, the sheriff also apparently disputed some of the rumors that were flying about the case, including the claim that Corrales' penis had been severed:

Rumors in the community and on Internet message boards have alleged that Corrales was brutally beaten to death, possibly even mutilated.

Bratcher said he had heard many of the rumors about the murder, several of which he said were not true. He said YCSO would prefer that people who believe they have information about the crime come and speak to sheriff's investigators or call them at 783-4427.

For now, investigators are being mum because they have to be. At this point, we have to trust that the sheriff's office will eventually arrest whoever committed this crime, at which point we'll find out more about what fate befell Amancio Corrales, as well as what motivated his killers.

I'll keep updating this story as details emerge.