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Trial Ordered in Teen's Killing
Judge rules three defendants should face charges in killing of transgender Newark teen.
By Yomi S. Wronge
Mercury News
March 19, 2003

An Alameda County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday there is enough evidence to try three men for the killing of transgender Newark teenager Eddie ``Gwen'' Araujo, 17.

Judge Kenneth Mark Burr also revoked bail for defendant Michael Magidson, eliciting cheers from the victim's family.

Magidson, 23, will stand trial along with Jason Cazares, 23, and Jose Merel, 23, for the beating and strangulation death of Araujo on Oct. 4 in a Newark home. The three face first degree murder charges with a hate crime enhancement because Araujo was transgender, meaning the teen lived as a woman but was anatomically male.

The defendants knew Araujo as Lida, whom at least two of the defendants had sex with. Their lawyers argued that the men were not guilty of a hate crime and that they simply reacted in the heat of passion after learning they had been tricked into committing a homosexual act.

``But for the eruption of this identity issue, which started like a flame that quickly swelled into an uncontrollable human fire, there would never have been any homicide,'' said J. Tony Serra, who represents Cazares.

However, the judge ruled that the defendants had plenty of time and many opportunities over the course of the hourslong killing to stop, take a step back and consider what they were doing.

``These things didn't happen quickly,'' Burr said. ``Yes, there was an immediate reaction. But then there were a number of events that required thinking and reflection.''

Despite the fact that no witnesses testified to hearing the men use homophobic epithets against Araujo, the judge agreed with the prosecutor that the men killed because of the victim's transgender identity.

``They took their own perverted view of justice, weighed the facts, put it on a scale and determined that their egos were worth more than Lida's life,'' Deputy District Attorney Connie Campbell said.

The Araujo case could be the first time the death of a transgender victim will be tried as a hate crime. Attorney Gloria Allred, who represents Araujo's family, said she will lobby lawmakers to include hate crimes among the group of special circumstances punishable by death.

Most of the grim details came directly from one of the defendants -- Jaron Chase Nabors, 19, who was charged along with his friends but later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and agreed to testify against them.

Nabors' testimony painted Magidson as the primary aggressor -- punching, choking and ultimately twisting a rope around Araujo's neck until the victim urinated and was believed dead.

Magidson is the ``key actor who brings about the death of Lida,'' Burr said, adding he believed Magidson was a flight risk.

Magidson had been living at a drug and alcohol treatment center in a Berkeley suburb since his family posted a $1.6 million bond Feb. 7. His mother wept in the audience as her son untied his shoe laces, emptied his pockets and was escorted back to jail by sheriffs deputies.

Cazares, meanwhile, rubbed his face and appeared to wipe away tears after the judge made his decision. Merel showed no visible emotion. The men will be back in court in Hayward on April 2 to be arraigned on first-degree murder charges.

Outside the courtroom, Araujo's family shed tears of joy.

``The judge did the right thing. It was finally fair,'' said the victim's mother, Sylvia Guerrero.

She added the family plans to move from Newark and start over some place else in the Bay Area.

``We're trying to heal,'' she said.

Judge Kenneth Burr also revoked bail for defendant Michael Magidson, who has been free since his family posted a $1.6 million bond Feb. 7.

Magidson, 23, will stand trial along with Jason Cazares, 23, and Jose Merel, 23, for the beating and strangulation death of Araujo.

The three are facing first degree murder charges with a hate crime enhancement because Araujo was transgender, meaning he lived as a woman. They allegedly killed Araujo -- whom they knew as a girl named Lida and whom two of them had sex with -- after learning Araujo was anatomically a male.

During the eight days of the preliminary hearing, witnesses said Magidson slapped, choked, punched, kicked and strangled Araujo. Magidson allegedly drove his pick-up truck with Araujo's body in the back to South Lake Tahoe, where they buried the body.

Jaron Nabors, a fourth suspect who struck a deal with prosecutors and testified against his friends, said Merel used a soup can to pummel Araujo on the head and a 10-inch skillet to hit the victim in the forehead.

Nabors also said Cazares kicked Araujo and, when they were unsure if the teen was dead, twice struck the 17-year-old on the head with a shovel.

Attorneys for the three men had earlier argued their clients should be charged with much lesser crimes rather than first degree murder.

Jack Noonan, a public defender who represents Merel, said based on testimony during the hearing, his client should only be charged with assault.

Michael Thorman, Magidson's attorney, said the killing was a crime of passion and that Magidson should be charged with manslaughter.

J. Tony Serra said Cazares is at worst an accessory, noting testimony that indicated he had tried to protect Araujo the night of the killing. Serra said that when Cazares struck Araujo over the head with a shovel, the victim was already dead.

But prosecutor Connie Campbell rebutted the defense assertions.

This morning, Magidson's former cellmate at Santa Rita jail testified Magidson recounted Araujo's death to him in great detail, but that Magidson also told him ``Oh, but I wasn't there that night.''

Jason Worley, who spent three days in the same cell as Magidson in October, also testified that he asked Magidson if he was concerned about DNA evidence that could link him to Araujo's death on Oct. 4 in a Newark home. Magidson said he washed his truck with chemicals after he took a trip to Lake Tahoe, according to Worley.

Jaron Nabors was the fourth defendant and had faced the same charges, but he reached a plea agreement with prosecutors and has testified against his friends.

During this morning's testimony, Worley said Magidson became concerned when he read in a newspaper that Newark police were looking for a fourth suspect in the Araujo case.

Magidson told him ``Man, I hope they don't get Jason,'' Worley said. Magidson also said he was afraid if Cazares were arrested, he would implicate him in the killing. Worley also said Magidson indicated he collected receipts from their visit to South Lake Tahoe casinos to serve as an alibi.

Contact Yomi S. Wronge at ywronge@mercurynews.com or (510) 790-7315.

The Mercury News

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/5418958.htm

Victim Offered Money, Slaying Suspect Testifies

March 18, 2003

Moments before the violence that killed a transgender Newark teenager, Eddie ``Gwen'' Araujo, the victim, offered one of the suspects ``a couple of thousand dollars'' in an effort to avoid trouble, according to another of the suspects.

On his final day of testimony in the preliminary hearing, Jaron Chase Nabors, 19, said Monday that the discussion of money between Araujo and defendant Jason Cazares, 23, occurred in a bathroom, just after it was discovered that Araujo, known to them as Lida, was anatomically male.

Nabors said Cazares recounted the bathroom conversation on Oct. 4 as they drove back from burying Araujo's body in South Lake Tahoe with Jose Merel, 23, and Michael Magidson, 23. All four are alleged to have killed Araujo after that discovery. They all faced first-degree murder charges -- and 25-years-to-life sentences.

The Mercury News

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/5414384.htm

Newark Man Admits Lying About Trangender Teen
Mercury News staff report
March 17, 2003

Under cross-examination today, a Newark man admitted he lied to police when he was first interviewed about the death of a transgender teenager.

During that police interview in October, Jaron Chase Nabors said he, Michael Magidson and Jose Merel carried the body of Eddie ``Gwen'' Araujo into the garage of Merel's house.

But in testimony three weeks ago, Nabors said he, Magidson and Jason Cazares carried the body while Merel was inside the house cleaning up the bloody remnants from their beating of Araujo, who the four men knew as a beautiful teenaged girl named Lida.

Nabors had not mentioned Cazares to police or anyone else until he wrote a jailhouse letter to his girlfriend outlining what allagedly happened.

Defense attorney J. Tony Serra, who is representing Cazares, kept peppering Nabors with questions about his truthfulness about many aspects of his police interview and earlier testimony.

Magidson, 23, Cazares, 23, and Merel, 23, are facing first-degree murder charges for allegedly beating and strangling Araujo. They are also facing a hate crime enhancement because Araujo was a transgender youth, meaning the victim lived as a woman. Magidson is free on bail; the others remain in jail.

Nabors, 19, had faced the same charges, but they were dropped as part of a deal he struck with prosecutors.

The four allegedly killed Araujo Oct. 4 after finding out the Newark teenager was anatomically a male.