Angie Zapata, 18, a Greeley transgender person (male>female), was murdered on July 17 by Ray Andrade, 32, who was arrested today in Thornton after fleeing the murder scene at Zapata's apartment in her stolen car. He confessed to Zapata's murder, saying that he beat her to death with a fire extinguisher upon discovering that she was actually a male, a day after Zapata had provided him with oral sex. The two had made contact initially just days before on the Internet. Investigators are determining whether to indict Andrade under hate-crime legislation.
Decrying Zapata's murder, Weld County District Attorney Ken Buck says that, "Greeley is a very tolerant community. Greeley is a very sensitive community," a perception that's up for debate. Having lived there for over a decade, I can attest to knowing mere pockets of tolerance and community-mindedness because, at its heart, it's a western town, and all that the geography implies, for better and for worse. Luckily, I've always known people there who congregate to promote havens of creativity and peace. Still others manage to stick it out and engage in constructing positive social change through business endeavors and cultural activities.
(A digression about Greeley itself: Slower to prove Buck's point is evidenced in a belated and foot-dragging effort to clean up the feedlot stench -- a fetid pall of death shrouding the town since Monfort opened its gates before the Great Depression, and more than 50 years before I ever got there. It's been the joke and the deal-breaker for fleeing Greeleyites and prospective businesses alike -- it's hard to get past such a stinky welcome mat. But beyond the obvious, people like me have a love-hate relationship with that town, so it feels good to point out that it's always been changing for the better, if slowly. I'd like to think that wrong-headedness has a faster rate of attrition than people with a higher purpose who want to serve.)
There's some predictable discussion already as to whether transgender (or all GLBT) people deserve to be recognized as a protected class for purposes of prosecution. I hope I'm not offending anyone when I say that, in terms of sentencing guidelines, the argument for me is relegated to the symbolism of naming the crime, but it's worthwhile and righteous symbolism because it's helping determine our trajectory as a society. Legal symbolism like this serves the purpose of compelling people to reflect on their personal values, which is always a good thing. And I respect my political opponents for bringing up the argument, once again -- it makes me weary, but it's ultimately necessary because a change of heart takes place first in discussion and debate, if not direct experience. But all that is off the point.
What's much more relevant and intriguing to me is the private obstacle course that transgender folk must run that figures into every date and intimate encounter. The fact that Zapata engaged in one-way oral sex with Andrade before revealing her true biological identity is baffling to me, and unfortunately laid a stone in the path to the most horrific consequence possible that Andrade could choose.
Crystal Middlestadt, of the Anti-Violence Project, said at today's press conference in Greeley announcing Andrade's arrest that there were 19 murders nationwide last year attributed to GLBT-related violence, and emphasized that these were only the ones reported. That sounds about right, unfortunately, so it's even more laudable that Greeley has solved the crime (with the help of Thornton Police), and promises to appropriately prosecute Andrade, an ex-con who has a long arrest record for theft-related crimes in Adams County. This appears to be a slam-dunk, so let's hope they don't choke with some last-minute plea deal.
In the meantime, I'd like to hear from transgender folks about how they navigate this aspect of living their lives, even if they're currently avoiding it. More on this story as it develops. -- KT
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