Defendant says prosecution witness admitted killing Araujo

www.sfgate.com ^ | 8/16/5 | Kelly St. John

[SmithL]

Hayward -- A man accused of killing a Newark transgender teen after learning she was biologically male denied today that he strangled Gwen Araujo, and said the prosecution's key witness admitted that he was the killer.

Michael Magidson, 25, of Fremont, testified in his retrial that Jaron Nabors, one of four men arrested in the killing of the 17-year-old Araujo in October 2002, told him that he had strangled Araujo after a struggle at a party.

Magidson said that after he, Nabors and Jose Merel had struck Araujo with fists, a frying pan and 5-pound weights, he went to clean up and left Nabors with the bleeding Araujo.

When he returned, he said, he asked Nabors how she was. "He said, 'She’s dead, I killed her,'" Magidson said.

Nabors, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in exchange for his testimony against Magidson, Merel and a third man, Jason Cazares, testified earlier in the retrial that Magidson had strangled Araujo before the men drove to a remote part of the Eldorado National Forest and dumped her body.

Magidson did not testify at the first trial, which ended in June 2004 with the jury deadlocked on charges against him and the two others.

Dressed in a suit and with his parents watching in the Hayward courtroom, Magidson described today the chaos in the home as he and his friends revealed the biological gender of Araujo, who called herself Lida to the men.

[SmithL]

No one to like here.

[bill1952]

A man accused of killing a Newark transgender teen after learning she was biologically male denied today that he strangled Gwen Araujo, and said the prosecution's key witness admitted that he was the killer.

Oh, come on. Only a liberal, gay based fishwrap could mangle terms this thoroughly.

Transgendered is not transsexual, and a transgender is basically a full time transvestite.

It's a man, period. Not a "she" or a "her" or "biologically male," or any of that crap.
Hell, a transsexual is still biologically male.

[tfecw]

I think i saw this Law and Order episode.

[conservativewasp]

It does seem familiar.

[dcar99]

I remember listening to the news reports on this story when it happened on a San Jose radio news station. Very consistently referred to him as 'her' and 'she' because it was how he liked to be referred to. Wouldn't want logic to get in the way of not offending someone and their bizarre behavior I guess.

[tessalu]

There was no "she" in this mess. The transvestite was begging for trouble. Really begging for it.

[Question_Assumptions]

I agree that "she" was a "he" and that he was doing something likely to cause a violent reaction like this but that still doesn't make murder right, especially if he was murdered while he was down and helpless.