CONTACTAbout UsCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2025 Equal Entertainment LLC.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
We need your help
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
Your support makes The Advocate's original LGBTQ+ reporting possible. Become a member today to help us continue this work.
The June beating death of a gay man will be reclassified as a hate crime, Tucson police said Tuesday. Officials initially said there wasn't enough evidence to show that the death of Philip A. Walsted had been the result of a hate crime. But Sgt. Marco Borboa, a Tucson police spokesman, said statements made in interviews have led authorities to believe that the killing was motivated by Walsted's sexual orientation. Walsted was found beaten near his home on June 12. A week later David A. Higdon, 20, was charged with first-degree murder after some of the victim's possessions were found at Higdon's home. Borboa would not say what specific information led investigators to believe that the beating was a hate crime. He said police have recorded 20 hate crimes this year, down from 48 in 2001.
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Pride Today
Latest Stories
5,000 users leave trans subreddit in wake of transmasculine controversy
July 16 2025 4:10 PM
Cooper Koch’s Emmy nomination earned him a surprise prison call
July 16 2025 3:47 PM
Florida officials claim SCOTUS ruling allows them to deny trans adults health care
July 16 2025 2:43 PM
Kevin Spacey demands release of Epstein files
July 16 2025 2:12 PM
Florida authorities search for truck driver who vandalized rainbow intersection
July 16 2025 1:12 PM
Ric Grenell’s rogue diplomacy stalls Marco Rubio’s Venezuela prisoner deal
July 16 2025 12:25 PM