Gwen Araujo

Gwen Amber Rose Araujo (February 24, 1985 – October 3, 2002) was an American teenager who was murdered in Newark, California at the age of 17.

She was murdered by four men, two of whom she had been sexually intimate with, who beat and strangled her after discovering that she was transgender.

Two of the defendants were convicted of second-degree murder, but not the requested hate-crime enhancements to the charges.

The other two defendants pleaded guilty or no-contest to voluntary manslaughter.

In at least one of the trials, a "trans panic defense"—an extension of the gay panic defense—was employed.

Merél and Magidson were sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

Gwen Araujo was born on February 24, 1985, in Brawley, California, to Edward Araujo and Sylvia Guerrero.

Her parents divorced when she was 10 months old.

Araujo came out as transgender in 1999 at the age of 14, and began using the name Gwen after her favorite musician, Gwen Stefani, but also went by Wendy and Lida.

She began to grow her hair long and planned to undergo hormone treatment and surgery.

Her older sister said that she was bullied in junior high school because of her voice and bearing.

She transferred to an alternative high school, but did not return for the 2002–03 academic year.

Araujo first met Michael Magidson, José Merél, Jaron Nabors, and Jason Cazares in late August or early September 2002.

The night they met Araujo, she flirted with all four men and they smoked marijuana together.

After she left, Nabors asked the other three "Could this be a dude?"

but none of the four men took the thought seriously.

Later, she engaged in oral sex with Magidson and anal sex with Merél.

She claimed to be menstruating and during sex would push her partners' hands away from her genitalia to prevent them from discovering that she had a penis.

Nicole Brown, who was dating Paul Merél (José's older brother) and was acquainted with Araujo, said that she and Araujo had engaged in a physical fight after Brown challenged Araujo to strip for the men.

Araujo surprised her with a strong blow during the fight, and Brown said the men "were tripping, because she was smaller than me and just as strong. She fought like a guy."

The four men debated in late September whether Araujo was female, concluding that "something bad could happen" to her if she was not.

On the night of October 3, 2002, Araujo attended a party at a house rented by José and Paul Merél, attended by them, their younger brother Emmanuel Merél, Michael Magidson, Jaron Nabors, Jason Cazares, and Nicole Brown.

Nabors later testified that José Merél said that night, "I swear, if it's a f— man, I'm gonna kill him. If it's a man, she ain't gonna leave."

According to Nabors, Magidson added "I don't know what I'm going to do", and Nabors replied, "Whatever you do, make sure you don't make a mess."

Brown said the four men were out at a club together and did not return to the house until after midnight.

In the early morning hours of October 4, Magidson asked Araujo to reveal her sex or allow him to touch her genitals, which she refused.

Brown suggested that one of them should inspect Araujo, and Magidson took Araujo to the bathroom.

After half an hour, during which José Merél later confessed he had sex with Araujo, Brown went to the bathroom, where she discovered Araujo had male genitalia during a forced inspection.

Brown was surprised and blurted out, "It's a f— man!", and the men with whom she had had sexual relations became enraged and violent.

Brown testified that she warned Araujo that the men were "very angry", but upon exiting through the front door, Araujo was confronted and forced back inside the house by Magidson, Nabors, and Cazares.

Emmanuel Merél testified that he also tried to escort Araujo away from the house, but was prevented by Magidson and Nabors.

José Merél vomited upon learning Araujo was anatomically male, then began to cry in disbelief, saying "I can't be f— gay."

Brown testified that she tried to comfort Merél after the discovery, saying "It's not your fault. I went to high school with you, and you were on the football team. Any woman that knows you after this, it's not going to matter. Just let her go."

After Araujo was brought back into the house, Magidson grabbed at her skirt and underwear in an attempt to expose her genitals.

He then proceeded to punch her in the face, knocking her to the ground, and put her in a chokehold, but he was pulled off by others.

Araujo begged the men to stop, saying "No, please don't. I have a family."

José Merél became angry and struck her in the head with a can of food, denting the can and opening a cut on her head, and then he struck her again with a frying pan.

The last words Merél heard Araujo speak were "I told you I was sorry."

Merél was granted early parole in 2016, after reportedly showing extensive remorse to Araujo's mother, who supported the decision.

Magidson, however, has reportedly never shown remorse and has been denied parole twice since his sentencing.