Indictments in N.J. killings

Six defendants were indicted Monday on murder and other charges in the brutal killings of three teenagers last summer in Newark, N.J. A fourth victim survived and two of the suspects are charged with sexually assaulting her.

Essex County Prosecutor Paula Dow said yesterday that robbery and gang activity were factors in the case, but she declined to reveal what police think is the motive for the attack.

The Blade has been reporting all along that the real motive for the killings was anti-gay bias. At least two of the victims were gay and sources have told us that jewelry, cell phones and other items of value were found at the crime scene, eliminating the robbery motive. The teens were said to be en route to a Black Gay Pride event in New York.

It’s been more than a year since the grisly murders, the full details of which the Blade and other media outlets have declined to report. And yet in all that time, mainstream media still won’t touch the gay angle. The New York Times mentioned the gay rumors in passing, but local media in New Jersey are colluding with police to cover up the true motive for the attack. If the Blade can uncover sources in Newark — activists, friends, politicians — who knew the victims to be gay and are urging a full investigation of the hate crime angle — then surely the New York Times, the Newark Star-Ledger and other nearby outlets can do the same. I’d be happy to share our sources with them.

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