Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / Being Gwen - A Life and Death Story

Transcript

Being Gwen - A Life and Death Story · Murder Files Unsealed

0:00
Speaker 1: The killing of Gwena Raujo in two thousand two represented
0:03
a significant moment in the struggle for transgender rights. The
0:07
seventeen year old resident of the San Francisco Bay area
0:11
was subjected to physical assault and ultimately strangled to death
0:15
after several men learned of her identity as a transgender woman.
0:22
February twenty four, nineteen eighty five. Gwena Raujo was born
0:27
to parents, Sylvia Guerrero and Edward de Raujo. Assigned male
0:31
at birth, she was raised as a boy by her family,
0:35
who referred to her as Eddie. July fourth, nineteen ninety nine,
0:41
at the age of fourteen, Eddie confided in his mother
0:45
about his feelings of being a girl confined within a
0:49
boy's body. Subsequently, Eddie commenced his transition to live as
0:54
a woman, adopting the name Gwen, inspired by his favorite
0:58
singer Gwen Stefani. Late summer two thousand and two, in
1:06
her third year of living as a woman, Arajo began
1:09
socializing with several men she encountered in late summer two
1:13
thousand and two. These individuals included twenty two year old
1:17
Michael Maggotson, twenty two year old Jose Morrel, twenty two
1:22
year old Jason Kazares, and nineteen year old Jarren Neighbours.
1:27
Court testimony revealed that Arajo, known to the men as Leader,
1:31
engaged in sexual relations with Michael Maggotson and Jose Morrell.
1:37
The men grew suspicious of Araju's biological sex due to
1:41
her reluctance to allow them to touch her genitalia. October three,
1:47
two thousand and two, Araujo was present at a gathering
1:50
hosted by Jose Morel, who lived with his younger brother
1:54
Manny and older brother Paul, the latter of whom had
1:57
previously engaged in sexual relations with Gwen. Kazaris and Neighbors
2:04
were also in attendance, along with Paul Merrell's girlfriend, Nicole Brown.
2:09
In the early hours of October fourth, the men confronted Araujo,
2:14
demanding to ascertain her biological sex. During a confrontation in
2:19
the bathroom, Brown inappropriately touched Araujo, discovering that she possessed
2:25
male genitalia. This revelation incited fury among the men, leading
2:30
Maggodson to strike a Raujo. Jose Morrel, distraught over his
2:35
prior sexual encounter with a Rajo subsequently assaulted her with
2:39
a frying pan and a can of food. Manny later
2:43
recounted his attempt to assist a Rajo in leaving the premises,
2:47
but he was obstructed by the other men. Nicole Brown,
2:51
Paul Morrel, and Immanuel Morrel exited the house while Araujo
2:56
remained injured in the living room. Neighbors testify that Maggotson
3:01
proceeded to strangle Araujo with a rope. Following this, Maggotson,
3:06
Josse Morrel, Cazares, and neighbors traveled for four hours to
3:11
the Silver Forks campground in Eldorado National Forest to dispose
3:15
of Araujo's body. October five, two thousand and two, Araujo's
3:20
mom reports her missing to police. October nine, two thousand
3:25
and two, Araujo's family becomes aware of rumors regarding the
3:30
confrontation and subsequently shares this information with the police. In response,
3:37
the authorities enlist a friend of neighbours to wear a
3:40
wire which captures recordings of neighbours discussing the murder. Following this,
3:46
the police interrogate neighbours, Magotson and Jose Morrell. October fifteen,
3:53
two thousand and two, neighbours takes police to the site
3:56
where they buried Araujo's body. The Alameda County Coroner's report
4:01
said Araujo died by strangulation and blunt force trauma to
4:05
the head. October eighteen, two thousand two, Magidson, Jose Morel,
4:11
and neighbors were arraigned for a Raujo's murder in a
4:15
Fremont court room. January twenty seven, two thousand and six,
4:21
Michael Maggidson and Jose Morel received sentences ranging from fifteen
4:26
years to life for the murder of Gwen Araujo. In
4:30
a separate agreement with prosecutors, Jason Kazaris accepted a six
4:35
year prison term for involuntary manslaughter, thereby circumventing a third trial.
4:42
Jaron Nabors was sentenced to eleven years in prison. During
4:46
the sentencing hearing, Merrill expressed remorse to Araujo's family, while
4:51
Maggodson displayed no signs of regret. September twenty eight, two
4:57
thousand and six, California Governor I Donald Schwarzenegger has enacted
5:02
the Gueneraujo Justice for Victims Act. This legislation mandates that
5:07
juries be made aware that they are prohibited from basing
5:11
their decisions on the gender or sexual orientation of any victim.
5:17
September twenty nine, twenty fourteen, California has made history as
5:24
the first state in the United States to prohibit the
5:27
use of a trans panic defense. This legislation, enacted by
5:32
Governor Jerry Brown, stipulates that a defendant's fear or shock
5:37
regarding a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity cannot be
5:42
employed as a legal justification for committing an assault. Sylvia
5:48
Guerrero was unfamiliar with the term transgender until the tragic
5:52
murder of her seventeen year old daughter, Guen Araujo, who
5:57
was born as Eddie. Today, she dan's as a respected
6:01
advocate for transgender rights, despite the profound impact that Gwen's
6:06
tragic fate has had on her life. Gwen, often referred
6:11
to as a woman, was in fact a ninety pound
6:14
girl who stood little chance against four intoxicated young men,
6:19
two of whom had previously engaged in sexual relations with her.
6:23
According to Guerrero, on October fourth, two thousand two, at
6:28
a house party in Newark, these individuals brutally assaulted and
6:32
strangled Gwen after confirming her biological sex. Fourteen years later.
6:39
The two individuals convicted of second degree murder appeared before
6:43
a parole board for the first time this week.