In March 2007, 25-year-old Ryan Keith Skipper was murdered in central Florida, his body discovered with 20 stab wounds. Two men were arrested — William Brown Jr. and Joseph Bearden — and after telling police they murdered Skipper because of unwanted sexual advances, their charges were elevated to hate crime. They face the death penalty. And yesterday, the prosecution began its trial against Bearden, hoping jurors will sentence him to it.
Investigators have said Bearden made derogatory remarks to others about Skipper’s being gay. But in opening statements, prosecutors focused on the robbery of Skipper as the motive for the killing.
Wearing a black suit, Bearden conferred quietly with his two lawyers. During opening statements, defense lawyers hinted Bearden would take the witness stand.
Since his arrest, Bearden has gotten numerous tattoos. A teardrop appeared to drip from his right eye. Large markings decorate the areas above and below his left eye. Others peeked out from the collar and cuffs of his gray dress shirt.
Assistant State Attorney Cass Castillo told jurors Skipper was killed on a dark, secluded stretch of rural roadway. The prosecutor noted some of Skipper’s blood was left behind inside his car. But the largest amount was on the roadway, showing the most severe injuries were inflicted outside the vehicle, Castillo said. [Ledger]
jake
eesh…my worst nightmare.
Sebbe
what are the the marks above and below his eye supposed to represent?
tonedef
I am so glad to read this. When the story finally broke on the web, even here and on towle, the focus seemed to be on the fact that Skipper was a drug user. After attending a vigil and meeting his mother, I wanted nothing more than for this to be exposed as a flat-out hate-motivated murder. I hope the jury sees it.
GranDiva
@jake:
Times three.
cruiser
@GranDiva: make that times 4
cruiser
What a pair of miscreants these two are. BTW the tat above his left eye I think look like steer horns(makes you go hmmm)these clowns are cold blooded murderers nothing more nothing less. What they did was/is reprehensible & they should be given the maximum allowed by law(LWOP?Death?)some 20 year old kid supposedly makes “unwanted sexual advances” so the next logical step is to kill him…right?! At least in these guys sick twisted world. What is probably going to happen is the Defense will paint them as hapless victims who were defending themselves against a sexual predator so their only recourse was to kill him so he could not do it to some other poor unsuspecting sleazeball!
Charles J. Mueller
@cruiser:
And going by that sick, twisted logic of “unwanted sexual advances”, a defense attorney could successfully argue that a woman has a right to kill a man, simply for making an unwanted sexual advance.
Obviously, saying no and walking away is not a viable option for deranged minds like this and when they use that kind of illogical argument, it only confirms that they were just waiting for an opportunity to hurt another human being and are hiding behind that defense as an excuse to commit their heinous crimes.
What is even more frightening, however, living in this redneck state as I do, is that there are probably countless thousands homophobic males who are shaking their head in full agreement with what Bearden did and saying, “That faggot (Skipper) got exactly what was comin’ to him.”
Btw…that tattoo over his eye looks more to me like some sort of suggested dagger piercing of his eye brow, eyeball and cheek if you look closely at what appears to be entry and exit points in the skin and could very be an expression of an obsession with similar “entry” (piercings) points in the body of another hapless human being.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall of the psychiatrist who will be working with him in prison.
vernonvanderbilt
Maybe I’m generalizing or projecting or something, but I find it hard to believe that someone as attractive as the victim would hit on a bulbous-headed, crazy-eyed goon like the defendant anyway. Gay panic is such a convenient defense, don’t you think? So why are the people that use it almost uniformly unreasonable to look at?
As for the teardrop tattoo, I have always heard that those represent lives you’ve taken. If that’s the case, he’s flaunting his guilt and celebrating it. My opinion? Kill the animals. We’re all better off without them breathing our air.
Greg Ever
The tattoos he has remind me a lot of Neo-Nazi tattoos I have seen. Do some searching online and you will find that these guys have all kinds of ridiculous tattoos, often times on their faces like this.
Greg Ever
@vernonvanderbilt: You’re right, Wikipedia has an article about tear tattoos that suggests this exact thing.
Sebbe
@vernon/greg – thanks didn’t know that.
Um, I also am very suspicious that cutie Ryan woulda have been making sexual advances on these two, not that would make any difference in this case, but Ryan was a cutie.
Alexa
I don’t believe in the death penalty, but I’d have a hard time feeling sorry if he was sentenced to it. But this is Florida, and the victim was gay, so it will never come to that. Even if he’s convicted he’ll probably get a slap on the wrist.
Scott
Ok, this is the same thing I wrote on Towleroad’s comment page.
I’ve been watching this on TruTV – formerly Court TV. After hearing the opening statements from both the prosecution and defense lawyers I’m not totally sure this was a hate crime. Skipper DID go to the crack house where these guys left with him to get money for drugs. They thought he was a cop, even asked for id. Most everybody, except Skipper, had been doing meth. They wanted Skipper’s new car so they could sell it for more drug money. His laptop was already broken. So far this seems more like a METH crime than a hate crime. His sexuallity wasn’t mentioned until AFTER the murder had been committed.
The creepy little guy with the tattoos didn’t get that ink until after he was attacked in jail.
I just think that if we all yell HATE CRIME every time a LGBT person gets victimized, we’ll never get this passed as a federal law. Plus, this is a crime in which the prosecutter is asking for the death penality. A hate crime label is to enhance a prison term, you cant enhance a death sentence.
I do feel badly for Skipper and his family, but sometimes murder is just murder.
Jenn
Sadly this happened in Polk County and I am sure more than three-quarters of the jury are right-winged rifle huggers. I lived in that hell-hole for 26 years and the majority of the people I knew feel that one man one woman is how G-d wants it.
Summer
I have known Ryan for about eight years, and at one point we were room mates. I know him pretty well, and let me tell you: THIS IS NOT RYAN! Ryan was attractive, and never had to “look” for a date. He was considered “a catch” to most of the Gay Community within his general area. Ryan also would NOT just pick someone up off the side of the road – he just wasn’t like that. Ryan was very naive, and quite timid in nature. He was a “happy go lucky” type of person, far from the picture that was originally painted of him. He was not an addict, not a felon, and not a crook. What he WAS, was a young kid with his entire life ahead of him. He was sweet, caring, generous, and hopeful. He was not the type of person that would “hurt a fly”…seriously. I’ve cried so many tears over his passing – knowing the type of person he is/was – knowing what must have been going through his mind that night – knowing that Ryan was not a fighter – it rocks me to the core on a daily basis!
Everyone who knew Ryan, loved him. No one understands…no one can wrap their brains around it… It’s a tragic end to such a promising future.
I mourn the loss of my little grinning buddy…the only person I know that greeted everyone he ever met with the biggest, brightest, and most welcoming smile I’ve ever seen.