NY man convicted of murder, hate crime: “Mistakenly” gay bashed Ecuadorian brothers
”I cannot understand how a person could kill another person and be laughing, enjoying 20 minutes later…. That kind of reaction — it can be seen only in a person that’s full of hate.”
Diego Sucuzhanay, talking to reporters after the conviction of Keith Phoenix for the murder of his brother, Romel Sucuzhanay. It’s reported that Phoenix and another man, Hakim Scott, attacked the two after assuming they were gay. The brothers had been drinking and were walking arm-in-arm, and Romel put a coat around Diego to keep him warm. During the attack, which occurred in December of 2008, they yelled gay an Hispanic slurs. Diego died from being hit in the head with a baseball bat. Apparently a hearing was held earlier this year, but a mistrial was declared because one of the jurors would not deliberate. (Associated Press)
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