08/20/2008
Killer Claims 'Gay Panic' in Murder of Louisiana High School Teacher
Twenty-year-old Louis Church killed Weston Verrette, a popular gay high school teacher in Gretna, Louisiana last week and confessed to it, but the police spokesman said he won't be pursuing hate crime charges because Church said he was enraged that Verrette had come on to him:
"Weston 'Tony' Verrette, 52, was found Friday afternoon in his bedroom, his throat slashed. By 10 p.m. that night, police had tracked down the suspect, Louis Church, 20, who had Verrette's wallet, cell phone and other belongings in his car. Church, later identified by police as the estranged stepson of retired Gretna Police Lt. Brad Church, confessed to murdering Verrette and claimed he had become enraged by Verrette allegedly making sexual advances on him, police spokesman Anthony Christiana said today."
Verrette had been helping Church get back on his feet because he was a "good Samaritan" according to the Deputy Police Chief.
Friends said Verrette was "generous to a fault": "Verrette, a French teacher and frequent traveler to Europe who had studied to be a monk in the hills of Florence, Italy, thought nothing of giving money away and opening his home to strangers in need, said Brien Gussoni, who knew Verrette for 27 years. 'He had a very hard life, and a lot of people did that for him,' said Gussoni, an attorney for the Port of New Orleans. 'You know, they'd take him in and help him. It was a payback kind of thing.'...Church...acknowledged that he had been homeless before Verrette met him on the levee in Gretna, took him in, fed him and gave him clothing, police said."
Posted 6:20 PM EST by Andy Towle in Crime, New Orleans, News | Permalink
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So...he was so enraged by this alleged come-on that he was driven to steal the victim's wallet and cell-phone. How gullible does this piece of trash think we are?
And ladies, remember this: If a guy comes on to you, you can kill him! Just claim you were enraged.
Posted by: Zinc Alloy | Aug 20, 2008 6:32:18 PM
The full explanation is as follows: "Christiana said the Gretna Police will not be pursuing hate crime charges because Church said he was enraged by the alleged sexual advances but not because of a blanket judgment about Verrette's sexuality."
So the gay panic defense is OK, and NOT a hate crime?? Sometimes I think anyone who even brings up the panic defense should be charged with a hate crime, lawyers, police departments not excepted.
Posted by: Kevinvt | Aug 20, 2008 6:43:57 PM
kevinvt
the fact that this church kid is the stepson of the retired chief of police probably had some affect on the decision.
Posted by: alguien | Aug 20, 2008 6:51:52 PM
I also read somewhere his mother works for the DA, but who knows what's true in that.
Posted by: kevinvt | Aug 20, 2008 6:56:21 PM
Yep, the moment I read that he was the stepson of the retired chief of police, I knew the game was on. Having said that, it doesn't appear to me to be a hate crime, anyway: the dude was just an amoral thug who found an easy mark.
Posted by: Joseph | Aug 20, 2008 7:02:52 PM
SO...IF, I go to Louisiana and kill that fucker then claim i was enraged by what he did....will I get away with it too?? I wonder. though i dont have a mother that works for the DA or a retired chief of police....I might get away with it.
Posted by: Bosie | Aug 20, 2008 7:04:57 PM
this is such an old story -- old queens helping out a younger stud and getting their throats slashed for it... just be careful my dears, i keep on telling you, give 'em a handout or take 'em to the baths but don't bring 'em home...
Posted by: the queen | Aug 20, 2008 7:05:53 PM
"IT DOESN'T APPEAR TO ME TO BE HATE CRIME"
"while those creepy, crawly, cretin creatures surround us... we sleep"
Posted by: bading | Aug 20, 2008 7:10:20 PM
He has gay face. Oh, and I'm shocked that a white homophobe actually exists. Shocked!
Posted by: Jason | Aug 20, 2008 7:30:09 PM
Poor little meth queen... He was probably confused. Not to worry, I'm sure the boys in prison will finish the lesson.
Posted by: chadnnocal | Aug 20, 2008 7:41:33 PM
That is 18 LGBT hate, crime murders we know of in 2008 -- and those are only the murders reported. We also have researched and verified over 5,000 LGBT, hate-crime murders dating back to the 1970's and we have only begun our research.
Please help us identify other hate-crime, LGBT murders that you may know of, regardless of the year it happened. We are here to educate and will be showing our exhibition at over 15 universities this autumn.
We also were the first "LGBT/gay" related exhibit ever allowed in the Florida State Capitol building earlier this year, which coincided with consideration of hate crimes legislation by both houses of the Florida legislature. Equality Florida was instrumental in helping the Gay American Heroes Foundation set up this educational exhibition -- thank you Equality Florida.
Join us and help us stop the hate in 2008. Thank you for the consideration.
www.gayamericanheroes.com
Chip Arndt
Board of Directors
Posted by: Chip Arndt | Aug 20, 2008 7:48:47 PM
He's not going to "get away with it." He's still charged with murder, just not with any attendant hate crimes.
Posted by: theo | Aug 20, 2008 7:51:29 PM
This is definately premeditated and should be punished to the max.
Here's the lesson: remember when YOU were that age you usually were NOT into guys over 40, so if a young one shows interest, he wants cash or a free ride, in other words RUN, don't walk away.
Posted by: ty | Aug 20, 2008 7:58:04 PM
this may not be "identified" by police as a hate-crime murder yet but....what do you think?
Posted by: Chip Arndt | Aug 20, 2008 8:05:10 PM
I hope folks don't think this exploitative, but this strikes me as the sort of thing that should help the Hate Crimes bill get through Congress. Obama supports this bill, McCain doesn't--and has a long track record confirming his lack of support. I'd say it definitely underlines a key difference between the candidates. It'd be a helluvva debate question.
Posted by: Dback | Aug 20, 2008 8:47:15 PM
I wish Cindy McCain had become "enraged" when John McCain called her a cunt.
Posted by: Strepsi | Aug 20, 2008 10:19:30 PM
I would like to comment, but before I do I want to acknowledge that I am from Singapore, where gay sex is illegal and discrimination isn't. So the tenor of my comment is informed by this.
Gay panic as a legitimate factor in determining the charge meted out against a perpetrator is, to me, tantamount to a hate crime.
I say this because it panders to the out-dated and offensive notion that gay men are generally predatory in matters of sex or dating. I find it particularly offensive because if the attempted "seduction" is violent in any way, it raises questions of sexual assault which is a valid mitigating factor. And certainly self defense in cases of extreme sexual assault is a viable argument.
Anything else is just an excuse for young 20s to attack and kill gay men 3 decades older than them and claim they were in the grip of something they couldn't control. And couldn't run away from. And couldn't help but take money and loot and run.
Wait isn't that what happened here?
Disgusting.
Posted by: Jeffrey Wong | Aug 20, 2008 10:26:32 PM
I don't want to sound harsh, but I have to agree with an earlier comment about using some common sense. In a majority of the crimes involving "gay panic", the scenario does tend to sound similar. An older gay guy going after a straight young boy. I mean, do you really think he's going to react kindly? The reason some of these guys are going for this type (hyper masculine) is the exact reason they sometimes end up with their throats slashed. I AM NOT saying it was justified, but when are some gay guys going to get it through their heads that just because he's young and straight doesn't mean it's okay to leer at him. C'mon guys, have a little more pride in yourself.
Posted by: Common Sense | Aug 20, 2008 10:50:18 PM
I don't think the failure to label it a hate crime makes any difference in this case.
As long as that punk isn't allowed to use the evil panic defence he should spend a long time in the pen getting his asshole stretched.
Of course I'm not the one who should be saying this. Because I use the Homophobe Panic Defence all the time.
He was giving me the evil eye your Honour.
So I hit him first...
Posted by: Simon | Aug 20, 2008 10:57:47 PM
Sad but the queen laid it out best. Very few 20 somethings have a real interest in older men that does not involve cash or drugs. Careful guys.
Posted by: thevegasstyleguy | Aug 20, 2008 11:41:01 PM
Common sense,you have none,its kind of disgsuting that you think its ever warranted to slash someones throat,and just because he might have come on to him is surley no justification to not seek hate crime legislation,can you imagine if women just said a guy tried to come on to them and they shot them,it would never happen. Its sanctioned homophobia and its being condoned by southern policemen thats about it. This animal needs the death penalty period.
Posted by: Chad | Aug 20, 2008 11:48:44 PM
Common sense,you have none,its kind of disgsuting that you think its ever warranted to slash someones throat,and just because he might have come on to him is surley no justification to not seek hate crime legislation,can you imagine if women just said a guy tried to come on to them and they shot them,it would never happen. Its sanctioned homophobia and its being condoned by southern policemen thats about it. This animal needs the death penalty period.
Posted by: Chad | Aug 20, 2008 11:49:54 PM
THIS IS WHY I AM PRO-GUNS!
Posted by: BASE1 | Aug 20, 2008 11:51:00 PM
~~``In a majority of the crimes involving "gay panic", the scenario does tend to sound similar. An older gay guy going after a straight young boy. I mean, do you really think he's going to react kindly?``
C.S. , we also need to use common sense in noticing who is telling such stories when they come out. A known good Samaritan on the one hand is the victim, and a known murderer is telling the story you seem to be assuming is true.
This delinquent, whom I`m guessing already did not have a decent reputation, makes an allegation that is totally unproven and unprovable, which he may believe will lead to a more lenient sentence in his redneck town.
Posted by: GregV | Aug 21, 2008 12:08:02 AM
While the Queen's advice is wise, let's make sure to keep the blame squarely on the killer. It's easy to make presumptions about what went on here, but if the killer didn't like the situation, he could have moved on. He had that choice. The gay panic defense should be put to rest once and for all. Unless you're being raped or physically assaulted, slashing the throat of the person who has fed and clothed you is indefensible, sex or no sex. Someone needs to put the word out to these young "straight" guys that killing anyone that "comes on" to you (assuming that's what actually happened, a big assumption) gets rewarded by a lifetime in prison with much harsher come ons.
Posted by: Ernie | Aug 21, 2008 12:16:17 AM