Motive a Mystery in Gay Man's Killing

G R A N T   T O W N, W. Va., July 7, 2000 -- Gay-rights groups today demanded thatpolice and prosecutors say whether the slaying of a gay black man inMarion County may be a hate crime.

Arthur “J.R.” Warren Jr. was beaten to death, then repeatedlyrun over with a car and dumped on a highway in what investigatorssay was a staged hit-and-run.

Two unidentified 17-year-olds have allegedly confessed and arecharged with first-degree murder, but authorities have refused todivulge their motive.

Marion County Sheriff Ron Watkins has downplayed speculation thekilling was linked to Warren’s sexuality and said earlier this weekthere is “no indication” the killing was a hate crime.

Tales of HarassmentWarren, 26, had related stories of harassment to friends.

“As someone who knew J.R., I urge local law enforcementofficials to consider sexual orientation in this case or to let thecommunity know why it has been ruled out,” said Angela Dunlap,leader of a gay and lesbian support group at Fairmont StateCollege.

The national Human Rights Campaign, based in Washington, D.C.,sent a field director to Grant Town to investigate today. The WestVirginia Lesbian and Gay Coalition also called for a publicexplanation.

“By all accounts, Warren was a slight man with a gentledemeanor who was chronically harassed because he was gay,” saidElizabeth Birch, executive director of the Human Rights Campaign.“To rule out bias motivation based on his sexual orientation orrace seems premature at best and irresponsible at worst.”

Neither Watkins nor Prosecutor Richard Bunner immediatelyresponded to requests for comment today.

Almost the ‘Perfect Crime’The suspects, authorities say, apparentlybeat the slender, 5-foot-9 Warren in a vacant, nondescript grayhouse they were painting late Monday night.

After dumping his body in the fog on state Route 17 and drivingover him several times, the boys returned to the house and wiped upsome of the blood, the sheriff said. They burned their bloodyshirts and rags, then buried them in a hole next to a crawlspace.

A newspaper carrier found the body early Tuesday morning.

Investigators thought they were dealing with a hit-and-run untila third boy, a 16-year-old who has not been charged, confessed hehad helped clean up the crime scene.

“If it wasn’t for the kid that broke down, it would have beenthe perfect crime, and we wouldn’t have known,” said the victim’sfather, Arthur Warren Sr. “We’re grateful to the boy whoconfessed. He’s got my forgiveness. The other two, they don’t, Godforgive me.”

A preliminary hearing for the suspects is set for July 13. Itmay be a month before the prosecutor decides whether to try them asadults.

It’s clear, however, which court the Warren Sr. believes thesuspects belong in: “That was adult thinking,” he said. “Thatwas no kid thinking.”

‘He Made Fun of Himself’Grant Town, a village of just a few hundred residents, sits onthe densely wooded hills along Paw Paw Creek. Until now, it hasbeen a quiet community where everyone — black and white, young andold, gay and straight — generally got along.

Friends say J.R. kept a sense of humor when teased about hissexuality.

“Everybody made fun of him, but he made fun of himself, too. Helaughed right along with them,” said 18-year-old Janiece Martin.“He joked around and didn’t get upset. You never saw J.R. getupset about anything.”

J.R. was a volunteer usher and audio technician at Mount BeulahBaptist Church, where he was adored by the elderly women whose softdrinks he kept filled. He was a protective big brother to Michael,25, and Audra, 16.

He worried about other people’s problems more than his own andwas someone who, just weeks shy of his 27th birthday, called homeif he was going to be even a few minutes late.

“He was a rare creature,” his mother said. “And a gentle oneat that.”

“Everybody who knew this child knew he wouldn’t fight,” hisfather said. “If you hit him, he wouldn’t hit back.”

Geneva Maddox, who lives a few doors down from the Warrens, hasseen the boys she believes are the suspects. They used to visitfriends on her street regularly, always with a basketball in hand.

“All these kids are ordinary,” she said. “We might have agood fistfight now and then, but by that evening, it’s all over.… I just can’t believe that they ran him over like that and lefthim on the road like a dog.”

“We thought we were in a safe community,” Brenda Warren said.“We thought this was the kind of town where we looked out for eachother. I guess we were wrong.”