Thursday, May 19, 2005

The worst kind of hate crime

Via our old friend Kynn Bartlett comes news of an atrocious murder in Arizona that, if the information proves accurate, makes Matthew Shepard's killing look humane.

The body of a 23-year-old Yuma man named Amancio Corrales was found last Friday in the Colorado River. So far, the mainstream news sources have indicated very little about the nature of the crime.

However, according to Gay in Yuma, Corrales was a cross-dresser who had been last seen departing in the company of a man he purportedly had angered:
Eyewitness reports state that 23-year-old Amancio Corrales, a Yuma native, who most recently lived in Phoenix, was dressed as a women on the night of May 7th at Ron's Place in Yuma. While dressed as a women, it is reported that Corrales flirted with a well known US Marine named "David." Eyewitnesses at the bar that night said "David" was furious when he found out Corrales was a man. Corrales was seen leaving the bar in a silver Honda with "David" and two other men whom appeared to be US Marines. "David" and the two other men took Corrales to Paradise Cove, where later that night Corrales was found dead and mutilated. Corrales' family who lives in Yuma, confirms Armancio's penis was cut off, his throat slashed and that Mr. Corrales suffered severe trauma to the head. The viewing was May 11th at Yuma Mortuary; the funeral was May 12th. Armancio is burried at Johnson's Mortuary in Yuma.

The information in the Gay in Yuma piece has so far not been confirmed. I spoke with Jeffrey Gautreaux, the Yuma Sun cops-and-courts reporter, who is working hard on the story. He says he hasn't been able to confirm these details with Corrales' family yet, and police are being extremely tight-lipped. But he indicated he had gotten similar reports from various sources, and his sense was that this was the direction this case was going.

I'll keep everyone posted as details emerge.

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