Sadness Follows Murder of Man Motivated by Hate | Advocate.com

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs issued a strong statement Thursday denouncing what it called “the hate violence motivated homicide of Ricky Griffin,” a murder that led to an arrest Monday in Dallas.

Police say Kieron Alexander, 25, beat Griffin to death and tried to set him on fire in an apartment in northeast Dallas Monday.

According to the advocacy group, Griffin was not gay, although officers said Alexander told them Griffin made “unwanted sexual gestures toward him.”

“We are deeply saddened by the death of Ricky Griffin,” said Osman Ahmed, research and education coordinator for the NCAVP at the New York City Anti-Violence Project.

“While Ricky Griffin did not identify as LGBTQ, the antigay statements made by the alleged offender highlight the disproportionate threat of homicide for gay and bisexual men, and people perceived to be gay or bisexual, and point to a possible ‘gay panic’ motivation in this homicide.”

Officers arrived at the Dallas apartment around 6 p.m. Monday and found Griffin, 54, dead on the living room floor. He appeared to have suffered blunt force trauma to the head, The Dallas Morning News reports.

Sadness Follows Murder of Man Motivated by Hate | Advocate.com