A pretrial hearing was held in the case of the murder of Lawrence King at which it was revealed that King's killer, classmate Brandon McInerney, bragged about having guns at home he could use "if he ever wanted to kill someone," the L.A. Times reports:
"McInerney made the comment to another
student at E.O. Green Junior High in Oxnard sometime before walking
into the classroom and allegedly gunning down gay classmate Larry King
on the morning of Feb. 12, 2008, said Oxnard police Sgt. Kevin
Baysinger. 'Brandon said if he ever wanted to kill anybody, his dad had a bunch
of guns and he had the capability,' Baysinger told the court. Other
witness testified that McInerney, then 14, and King had been feuding
over King's alleged romantic overtures toward McInerney. McInerney
was clearly irritated after King, 15, reportedly said, 'Baby, I love
you,' the day before the shooting occurred, based on interviews with
students. Other students reported similar threats, he said. McInerney reportedly told one of King's friends the day before
the shooting, 'Tell Larry goodbye because you're not going to see him
again,' Baysinger said. Other students reported similar threats, he
said."
A disgusting line of questioning from the defense suggests that they're going to try and use some sort of "gay panic" defense:
"Defense attorney Scott Wippert sought to show that King provoked
violence by taunting McInerney with his effeminate dress and romantic
pursuit. At one point, Wippert sharply questioned Oxnard police Officer
Ramiro Albarran. 'Did you inquire if Larry King was making sexual advances toward
McInerney … you do realize he’s charged with first-degree murder? That
he was provoked?' Wippert said."
Over the weekend, the L.A. Times interviewed Dawn Boldrin, the teacher in the classroom who witnessed King's murder. She had apparently been grappling with how to handle King as she saw him wrestling with his sexual identity and experimenting with make-up and women's clothes. She said none of the other teachers would deal with it:
"Before school started one day, she tucked her
oldest daughter's shimmery homecoming dress into a gift bag and
presented it Larry. He ran to the bathroom and tried on the green
strapless gown. 'I wanted him to know that not everyone looks at you in a negative way,' Boldrin said. 'The world's a big place — enjoy it.' Boldrin had helped other students in the past. 'I just didn't see a
problem with it,' she said of her gift to Larry. 'I'm a teacher, and I
thought with my heart.'"
Boldrin gave King the dress five days before the killing. On the day of the murder, she said that she had warned him about flaunting his "effeminate manner" in front of boys who she had heard "roughed him up."
Said Boldrin: "Look Larry, you can't shove this into people's faces. That's as wrong as them saying there's something
wrong with you."
