Final Remarks in Araujo Case

Christopher Curtis, PlanetOut Network
Wednesday, June 2, 2004 / 05:08 PM

Jury deliberations are expected to start Thursday in the murder trial of Gwen Araujo, a transgender teenager from Newark, Calif., who was beaten, killed and buried in a shallow grave after her biological identity was revealed in October 2002.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, prosecutor Chris Lamiero asked jurors on Tuesday to find defendants Michael Magidson, Jose Merel and Jason Cazares all guilty of first-degree murder during closing arguments.

"These men acted together as a team whose express purpose was to kill another human being. They each had a part," Lamiero said. "Michael Magidson may have strangled the life out of [Araujo], but it might as well have been all of them."

However, the attorney for Cazares, Tony Serra, dismissed the notion his client was guilty of murder in a closing argument that stretched from Tuesday until Wednesday. Serra maintained Cazares did not kill Araujo and only helped his friends bury her body.

"I want you to feel for him. He's not a bad person," Serra said in a quote published by the Associated Press (AP). "Don't make this a miscarriage of justice. You want to look in the mirror a year from now and say, 'I did the right thing.' There's reasonable doubt based on my client's testimony alone."

Serra attacked the prosecution’s star witness, Jaron Nabors, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and testified against his friends.

According to Nabors’ testimony, Araujo was wrestled to the floor, slapped and punched. Narbors said Araujo begged for mercy and that Magidson pulled an end of rope toward Araujo's neck.

"Don't you trust him. Don't you ever convict on his word," Serra said, claiming Nabors was lying to save himself.

Michael Thorman, the attorney for Magidson, argued Wednesday that Araujo’s killing did not amount to premeditated murder because Araujo deceived her killers.

"Sexuality, our sexual choices, are very important to us," said Michael Thorman in a quote published by the AP. "That's why the deception in this case … was such a substantial provocation -- sexual fraud, a deception, a betrayal."

Both Magidson and Merel had sex with the victim. Merel’s attorney also made closing arguments Wednesday.

Jurors have the option of acquittal, first- or second-degree murder or manslaughter.

But Lamiero argued this case doesn't merit a manslaughter verdict. "Sometimes people commit manslaughter, sometimes, but in groups?" the prosecutor said. "People who join together and fuel each other in a common goal to kill together -- do they commit manslaughter? Is that something that we're willing to accept as a society?"

A manslaughter sentence carries a maximum sentence of 11 years. A first-degree murder conviction carries a sentence of 25 years to life. If jurors believe the case was a hate crime, four more years would be added.