Police aren't probing Marcellus Andrews' death as a hate crime.
The beating death of a Waterloo teenager is not being investigated as a hate crime, despite allegations that anti-gay taunts were used before the homicide, Waterloo police said Tuesday.
Marcellus Richard Andrews, 19, died from injuries suffered in a fight in the 200 block of Cottage Street early Friday. Andrews endured severe head injuries and was taken off life support at University of Iowa Hospitals in Iowa City on Sunday afternoon.
Assailants yelled “faggot” and “Mercedes,” a feminization of Andrews’ first name, at the teenager before he was beaten to death, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier reported.
Officials from One Iowa and Iowa Safe Schools denounced the homicide Tuesday as an apparent hate crime. The groups advocate acceptance for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender individuals and work against bullying and hate speech.
[...]
Complete article at Des Moines Register : http://bit.ly/pLeG2C
