The man accused
of killing gay South Carolinian Sean Kennedy in May will
not be tried for a hate crime.
The man accused
of killing gay South Carolinian Sean Kennedy in May will
not be tried for a hate crime, the Greenville
News reported Saturday, and not just because the state
does not have a hate-crimes statute.
"Through an
extensive investigation I found that the defendant did
not strike the victim because he was a homosexual,"
investigator Paul Silvaggio testified in a Greenville
County circuit court bond hearing, according to the
newspaper. "It was only later that he knew the victim
was a homosexual."
A $25,000 bond
and home detention were set for Stephen Andrew
Moller, 19, who was indicted for involuntary manslaughter.
The initial warrant charging Moller with murder
indicated that the defendant acted out of a dislike
for gay people. Moller turned himself in.
The investigator
said Friday that as Kennedy was leaving a
Greenville-area nightclub, he stood alongside a car in which
Moller was seated. Kennedy reached inside the car to
hand the driver a cigarette, but when Moller moved to
change the radio station, Kennedy touched his face.
Moller got out of the car and hit Kennedy in the face.
Kennedy then fell and hit his head on the pavement, an
injury that proved fatal. (The Advocate)
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