Teen's death ruled homicide

By Electa Draper, Denver Post Four Corners Bureau

CORTEZ - The Montezuma County Sheriff's Office said Monday that the death of Fred Martinez Jr., an openly gay 16-year-old Navajo boy whose body was found near a sewer plant south of town late June 21, was a homicide.

Officials would not release any information about possible motives in the attack, but they said that they had cleared three early suspects and developed several new leads in the case through tips from the public.

Investigators initially said that they didn't know whether the apparent blow to Martinez's head was an assault or an accident, but the autopsy indicated that an accident was highly unlikely. Exposure to the elements, after the head injury and other injuries rendered him unconscious, might have contributed to Martinez's death.

Officials have said that they aren't ruling out the possibility that Martinez's ethnicity or sexual orientation could be motives in the crime, but they also have said that they didn't have any evidence to substantiate such theories.

Residents of the Happy Valley Trailer Park discovered Martinez's decomposed body late June 21. The only identification found with the body was a mirror with the name "Fred Martinez" on it.

Martinez's family had last seen him alive at his Cortez home the night of June 16. His family believed he was going to a carnival at the Ute Mountain Roundup Rodeo at the county fairgrounds. Officials had a report that Martinez was later seen at a party.

Because Martinez often left home for several days at a time, family members told authorities, they did not report him missing until after the discovery of the body five days later.

Schoolmates and a high school counselor have described Martinez, who would have been a sophomore this fall at Montezuma-Cortez High School, as openly gay, outgoing and popular. He sometimes wore makeup and carried a purse at school, schoolmates said, and a few speculated that his effeminate appearance and manner could have made him a target for a hate crime.

The Four Corners Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Diversity said in a press release that Martinez was "a model for us in his ability to express his individuality despite the pressures of convention, while garnering the love of many around him.

"We respond to the murder of Fred with the concern that his attack may have been a hate-motivated crime," the alliance said.

Montezuma County authorities have set up a hotline for tips from the public - 970-565-4243. Callers may remain anonymous. Crime Stoppers is offering a reward up to $1,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or people who committed this crime.

FEEDBACK: Contact information
Four Corners Gay and Lesbian Alliance for Diversity
Kathy Keyes, Board Chair, (970) 264-0051
John Peters-Campbell, Cortez Board Member, (970) 564-0665

Terry Helm, Counselor, Montezuma-Cortez High School (970) 562-2629

Colorado Anti-Violence Program, PO Box 181085, Denver, CO 80218
Denise de Percin, Executive Director
Office: 303.839.5204 Fax: 303.839.5205 24 hour pager: 303.852.5094
Email: coavp@hotmail.com

From:SARATOGANY@aol.com
Date:Tue, 3 Jul 2001 10:09:10 EDT
Subject:CO:Fred Martinez harassed at school (gay 16yo murder victim)

Message from:
The Coalition for Safer Schools of NYS, PO Box 2345, Malta, NY 12020
Email to:SARATOGANY@aol.com
The Real or Perceived Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered Student Protection Project

===================================================================

Durango Herald
http://www.durangoherald.com/1news4752.htm

Martinez harassed at school

June 30, 2001

By Jim Mimiaga
Cortez Journal Staff Writer

Friends and teachers of Fred Martinez Jr. say the well-liked Montezuma-Cortez High School student was a determined, upbeat young man who was struggling toward adulthood in a climate of intolerance and cultural contrasts.

The 16-year-old, an apparent victim of homicide who was found dead June 21, was born in Tuba City, Ariz., and raised in Cortez. In school, his endearing personality and gentle sense of humor attracted a close circle of mostly female, American Indian friends.

But as Martinez began to come into his own in the last two years, he displayed a feminine style of appearance that sometimes brought him harassment and scorn, acquaintances say.

Acquaintances have reported that Martinez liked to wear women's clothing and makeup, and told people he was considering a sex-change operation.

The hardship he suffered was great, but rarely displayed, those who knew him said.

"He knew that others did not care for the way he looked, but he did not hold it against them," said Ann Miller, one of Martinez's teachers in the adult-education program. "He was very forgiving, and he really liked people, even if they were less than polite."

Such abuse eventually took its toll, though. The pressure led him last February to enroll in adult-education programs, where he received more personal attention.

"He came to the adult ed because it was a learning environment where he felt safer," said Barbara Burroughs, one of Martinez's teachers. "He was being harassed, and you don't want to go to school every day if you're going to be harassed."

Michelle Kardokus, a friend of Martinez, said, "He would brush off people making fun of him, but not in an angry way. He showed a lot of confidence in himself, and who he was.

"When he came along, the group dynamic was a lot livelier because he was really funny and could make all of us laugh," she said. "He just had a humorous perspective that we all really loved about him."

Miller said she and others are distraught at how Martinez has been portrayed in the media.

"There is too much focus on his tendency toward being feminine," Miller said. "It was just another outfit, just like with head-bangers, jocks, rappers and skinheads. He was a very neat, clean person who cared about his appearance.

"The real focus needs to be on the viciousness and hatred of whoever it was that would do this to such an innocent person," she said.

Behind his courageous and amicable personality, Martinez suffered from mental anguish that went beyond typical teen-age angst, a situation that was catching up with him psychologically, his teachers say.

"Many of our kids are the ones that went through some pretty hard times in life, and he was one of them. He had a lot of pain in his life, but he never felt sorry for himself," Miller said. "He wanted to go on to college and contribute to society."

Miller said Martinez had begun considering career options, which looked promising.

"We had just talked about college or job training on the last day of school and he said ... he was ready for that," she said. "We are just stunned at what happened."

Martinez's own hardships, personality and traditional American Indian upbringing gave him sharp perspective on the human condition, teachers said

His humor and kindness would probably have led to a career in counseling or medicine, Miller speculated.

"When people felt down in the classroom here, he wanted to help them; he could put people at ease," she said.

Martinez's mother, Patricia Mitchell, declined to talk about her son when contacted Thursday, but said that "some of what is being said is untrue."

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