The Michael Sandy murder trials continued yesterday here in New York. After drilling 21-year Anthony Fortunato, prosecutor Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi turned her attention to 20-year John Fox yesterday. NYDN reports:
A suspect in the death of a gay man in Brooklyn could be convicted of murder as a hate crime based on his videotaped confession alone, a prosecutor told a jury Wednesday.
John Fox, 20, who is accused along with three of his pals of robbing 29-year-old Michael Sandy and chasing him to his death on the Belt Parkway, admitted nearly everything on videotape, she said.
The defendants allegedly lured Sandy to a gay beach via the Internet. “You can almost hear the grand ol’ time these kids are having as they type away” on the computer, Assistant District Attorney Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi said in her closing argument.
Fox’s lawyer insists authorities coerced the taped confession, which would make it inadmissible as evidence. That, however, will be up to the jury to decide.
Fox and Fortunato – as well as Ilya Shurov – face hate crime charges for luring Sandy to a secluded area and beating him. Sandy fled, ran into traffic and was hit by a car. He died less than a week later. Considering Fortunato’s gay revelations, some legal experts wonder exactly how applicable a hate crime charge could be. We think it’s definitely applicable…
