Sitting in a
courtroom and listening to the details of a brutal death
spelled out for a second time is hard. But the family of
transgender teenager Gwen Araujo say they'll keep
coming. "We're hoping that we have justice in the
end," said David Guerrero, Araujo's uncle. Guerrero
was among a number of family members in attendance Wednesday
as the second trial of the three men accused of
killing Araujo began with opening statements. According to prosecutors, Araujo, 17, was beaten
and strangled in a slow, methodical act of savagery
after the men she thought were her friends discovered
her biological identity. Prosecutor Chris Lamiero laid out
the killing Wednesday as a calculated act of
revenge--a summary judgment, a sentence of death, and
a punishment carried out "with zeal." Araujo was hit
with a can of food, with a skillet, he said. She was
punched, kicked, and choked. She was tied up. She was strangled. But a defense attorney for one of the accused
men said that wasn't the case, at least for his
client, denouncing the man who provided many of the
details about the killing as a corrupt liar. Attorney Tony
Serra said the witness, Jaron Nabors, has lied to the
police, to his friends, and to his girlfriend and
cannot be trusted. "He's almost telling us, 'Don't
believe a word I say."' Serra is representing Jason Cazares, 25. Also
charged are Michael Magidson and Jose Merel, also 25.
Their attorneys were expected to make opening
statements Thursday. Prosecutors say Araujo, who was born Edward but
grew up believing her true identity was as a woman,
was killed after her biological gender was revealed in
a stormy confrontation at Merel's house in Newark, a San
Francisco suburb. Nabors, 22, was there for the showdown and
initially was charged with murder but later cut a deal
to plead guilty to manslaughter in exchange for
testifying. He led police to Araujo's body, buried
near Lake Tahoe. Nabors took the stand last year and
described the killing in detail, but that trial ended
in deadlock. He is expected to again deliver key
testimony, and Serra told jurors Nabors is not
believable. The attorney said Cazares had gone outside when
the killing took place and helped to bury the body
only out of loyalty to his friends. Serra charged that Nabors falsely implicated
Cazares in the attack to try to win a better deal.
"Nabors will never be a witness that anyone can rely
on in such a serious matter," Serra said. "Can a tiger
change or erase his stripes? Can a leopard change or erase
its spots?" Earlier, Lamiero told jurors he would not be
trying to portray Nabors as "a good guy," but he noted
that if prosecutors don't believe Nabors is telling
the truth on the stand, the deal falls apart. For Araujo's family, listening to the details
means reliving the worst time of their lives. "No
mother should ever have to hear what this mother heard
today," family attorney Gloria Allred said outside the
courtroom. No matter how the trial turns out, Araujo's
mother, Sylvia Guerrero, said she's not expecting to
find that elusive concept known as closure. "Not for
me," she said. "She was way too young. I miss her
dearly every day." Guerrero, who has become an advocate for
transgender people and who had Araujo's name legally
changed to Gwen posthumously, said she's tried to
"move on and deal with life." "But closure?" she said.
"It's unacceptable what happened." (AP)