A 23-year-old man
who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the killing of a
transgender teen was sentenced to 11 years in prison on
Friday. Jaron Nabors, of Newark, Calif., pleaded
guilty to voluntary manslaughter early in the case. He
admitted to aiding and abetting Gwen Araujo's murder and
showed authorities where the teen's body was buried.
"There's nothing
that can be done that will take away from the immense
pain of the family of the victim, but Jaron did the best he
could after he had participated in this horrible
event," Nabors's attorney, Annie Beles, said after the
hearing.
Araujo, 17, was
beaten, tied up, and strangled on October 4, 2002, after
men she'd had sexual encounters with learned she was
biologically male, according to authorities. Araujo
was born a boy named Edward but later discovered her
true identity to be female.
Two men were
sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after being
convicted of second-degree murder in the slaying. A fourth
man pleaded no contest to manslaughter and was
sentenced to six years in prison. (AP)