Here’s a story that raises eyebrows at every turn.
40-year-old Benny Longoria was found dead by a friend in his Tulsa, OK apartment on June 20. He was stripped naked, and blood was spattered throughout the home. Seems like murder investigation 101.
Except that police seem intent on sweeping the whole thing under the rug.
The first puzzling bit is the fact that it took authorities over a month to notify Benny’s family. A month.
How about we take this to the next level?
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And the red flags just keep on coming. No autopsy was performed, reportedly because police immediately cremated the body due to Benny’s HIV-positive status. Which just seems very, very wrong.
But the most troubling part is that police insist Benny died of “natural causes” and are refusing to open a suspicious death investigation. A claim they say was determined when Dr. Frances Haas examined the body.
Except that Dr. Haas told activist C.d. Kirven that he never performed an examination, and does not know how Benny died.
The activist, who is working on behalf of Benny’s family and friends, then got in touch with Sgt. Walker of the Tulsa Police Homicide Division, and reports:
“…he will never allow Benny Longoria’s death to be investigated. I pointed out that no autopsy was performed and that Benny Longoria’s doctor did not support the police department’s statements on cause of death, and then asked what medical training Officer Brad Sheryl had that allowed him to determine as cause of death in this case. That’s when Sgt. Walker hung up on me.
Benny’s family is now waiting for a response from the Police Chief’s office on the status of the investigation request in light of media coverage.
h/t Dallas Voice
Stache99
Sounds like some good ol boys on the police department. Probably thought the guy deserved it.
ric
It smells of police involvement.
ric
Covering for a gay officer. And yes I have the balls to say it.
DarkZephyr
@ric: Unless you are privy to some information that the rest of us are not, you pulled that out of your @$$.
Heyguy
If this blog is accurate, my blood is boiling for whole of pigs situation.
AntBee
I don’t understand why gay people continue to live in Tulsa, OK. It has been seen to be not gay friendly for decades. This case just proves it once again.
IcarusD
Normally I’d be more inclined to lean towards laziness or incompetence, but there’s so much to be suspicious about with this story. Didn’t inform next of kin for a MONTH? Immediate cremation due to his HIV status? (Even if he was HIV-positive, and I’m inclined to be suspicious of even that, given all the other weirdness here), there’s no medical reason to cremate rather than keep on ice. No autopsy performed? Isn’t that routine for almost any death other than for a prolonged illness like cancer? Lying about a medical examination? Refusing to permit an inquiry?
It’s possible that there was incompetence compounded by a cover-up to hide that incompetence. At the very least, it seems like state or federal authorities need to step in.
Jonty Coppersmith
How exactly is the police department allowed to cremate someone? It seems they would have to have a death certificate which would require a doctor somewhere to declare the death and name a cause of death. Something is definitely fishy here.
blackberry finn
This case should be a top priority for our lobbyists and activists. At least as important as anti-gay bakeries, wouldn’t you say?
hyhybt
This is too deliberate to be all incompetence; it has to be a coverup at least of incompetence, and perhaps of murder by the police themselves.
On the other hand, it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility that someone would die of natural causes while they are naked and there is spilled blood in their home. But if so, there would still need to be an explanation supported by evidence, which they conveniently destroyed.
JAWIWA
@DarkZephyr: Uh, no. Ric made a logical inference. The most obvious reason a police department would commence the cover-up of an obvious murder would be due to the involvement of an officer or a family member or friend of an officer.
QTYMann
Sounds like a Change.org petition might be in order…. Couldn’t hurt.
hyhybt
@JAWIWA: That doesn’t even begin to explain the part about a GAY officer.
Dxley
The police killed this man.
vive
Screams coverup.
Cam
“”40-year-old Benny Longoria was found dead by a friend in his Tulsa, OK apartment on June 20. “”
_______________________
Um, pretty much all you had to say was “Tulsa OK.”
Either a police cover up because they are involved, or somebody ordered the body cremated without authorization and before a medical exam and they are trying to cover that up.
The chief of police won’t do anything about it, they will most likely have to go into court, but my hope is they can get an outside organization to investigate the Police’s part in this.
Lee4u
You should contact the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office..Telephone: 405-528-7515..They will go in and do an investigation, cleaning out the police dept of no good cops at the same time..
chrispy33
@AntBee: And I guess women shouldn’t wear short skirts or they’ll be raped. Kind of outdated, putting the blame on the victim
ric
As I said. They are covering up for one or more of there gay officers. Who may or may have not been involved with the victim. I may be wrong. But it has to many red flags waving frantically in my mind.
aaronitron
Police chief’ email – [email protected]
Everyone involved in this is seriously fucked up.
Daniel-Reader
Remember when the federal government had to take over the New Orleans police department because the police were so corrupt they were killing witnesses to their corruption? The family needs to bump this up to the federal level.
Alan down in Florida
This stinks to high heaven. They didn’t notify his family for a month? Surely someone would have reported him as a missing person at some point before 30 days had gone by.
This needs a special prosecutor. Surely there’s someone to advocate for this man.
JohnMc888
Perp: police, politician, preacher. One of the three.
mikeg
What a disturbing story. At the very least I hope the police involved in this are investigated and held responsible for what looks like clear incompetence.
grrrrandy
This is a crazy story that should get national news coverage. Forget anti-gay bakers, these corrupt police need to be exposed and explain their reason for cremating the poor man without his family’s consent, burning his belongings and stealing his damn car. wtf?!
DickieJohnson
Other than on Queerty, has this story achieved “national media coverage”? Those involved need to answer for this, and be held responsible.
Cam
@DickieJohnson: I think it made the Dallas voice and it’s starting to trickle out on Facebook.
jar
This does not have to be a cover-up. There is a long history of the police ignoring crimes against gays and lesbians. It is much more likely that they simply do not care about his murder or might even think it’s a good thing that there is one less f*g in Tulsa. The feds need to step in and take over the investigation- and investigate the police dept as well.
Cam
@jar:
Yeah, but not reporting a murder, lying about a medical report and cremating a body without the family’s approval sounds like a cover up.
hyhybt
@Cam: Exactly. Way too much effort to be explained by apathy.