Gay Gang Member Killed In Baltimore
Teenage gang members in Baltimore, USA are thought to have killed one of their own after finding ‘gay’ text messages on their victim’s phone – “he had to go” say the two teenage gang members now charged with murder.
Autopsy reports indicate that Steven Parrish [pictured], a former member of Bloods gang in Randallstown, Baltimore, died with over 50 superficial knife wounds on his body, and one stab wound to the chest that ended his life. Before leaving the scene, fellow gang members stomped on Parrish’s neck, and left a red bandana covering his face.
According to court documents, witnesses saw two men leave with Parrish from his home around 4pm Thursday May 29, walking toward woods close by the 18-year-old’s home. Neighbours later heard someone pleading “Stop! Why are you doing this to me? I didn’t do anything!”, with Steven Parrish’s body found in the woods at around 6:30pm.
After offering a US$2,000 reward for information, and months of police investigation into what was originally thought to be a typical gang murder, Bloods gang members Steven T. Hollis III, 18 and Juan L. Flythe, 17, were charged with first-degree-murder last Thursday.
Detained, charged and refused bail, the men’s motives and actions have shocked residents and authorities. “It’s awful,” Baltimore County prosecutor William B. Bickel said in an interview. “You’re talking about a gangland-style execution because he was gay. They took him out back in a field and stabbed him to death.”
Holding a meeting at Parish’s house one day before the murder, Hollis and Flythe say that was when they and several other gang members found the ‘gay’ texts and a photograph that angered them.
Police reports say that “there was no date or time discussed for the killing, but it was made very clear to all those present that Parrish was going to be killed.”
When confronted about what was found, the two men say Parrish did not deny that the messages were ‘gay’ in nature. Worried about how their gang would be perceived if others found out one of their members was homosexual, “they decided that Steven Parrish ‘had to go,’” police wrote in charging documents for the two men.
Parish’s family have been refusing interviews, although father Steven Parrish said in a short phone interview on Friday that having the murder happen so close to the family’s home “was rough”.
Parrish was set to attend his graduation at Randallstown High School the day after his murder.
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blueterrace
said on the 24th Aug, 2008