The "hate crime" designation is so far off the map for me, it didn't even register that that's what this case involved.
Agreed. I don't think the "hate" was anything more than outrage at being lied to; a lie which resulted in having sex with something other than what you believed to be female. If you're heterosexual, this would be unsettling to say the least, and most of us would feel violated. As far as brutally murdering this person? Despicable. It just doesn't warrant murder.