As the two rural Florida men who allegedly stabbed Ryan Skipper to death two weeks ago await trial in a local jail, questions are being asked about how the events leading up to the murder were described in the press.
The sequence of events that night as reported seemed not to add up from the start, when a Polk County Sheriff’s Dept. spokesman was quoted as saying:
Skipper was driving around Wahneta on Tuesday night when he found [21-year-old Joseph] Bearden walking along Sixth Street in Eloise about 11 p.m. Tuesday, and offered him a ride. The two went back to Skipper’s house, where they smoked marijuana and discussed using Skipper’s computer to copy checks, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The problem with this statement is that it appears to come from a single source: Joseph Bearden, the alleged murderer.
However, there was at least one other witness who was apparently not consulted by investigators. Ryan had two roommates, one of whom, Kelly Evans, disputes Joe Bearden’s story:
Evans was home the night of the murder and disputes what has been reported in the news. “Ryan went out and never came back,” Evans said. “They keep saying he was here with those two guys, smoking marijuana and taking his computer when they left. I was here. That never happened. He wouldn’t do that.”
Did early reporting get this wrong or did investigators base their timeline solely on the word of a young man whom they suspected of murder?
One investigator also made this odd declaration: “What we do know is that Ryan was out looking to pick up someone that evening.” How could the police “know” this? They might suspect it, especially if that’s how the young alleged murderer characterized Ryan’s motives. Similarly, investigators appear to have accepted without scrutiny the alleged murder’s claim that Skipper was conspiring with him in a forgery scheme.
The reality is, only one person could have actually “known” for certain what Skipper’s intentions were that night, or whether he conspired to forge checks with someone he’d only just met. That would be Ryan Skipper himself, and the fact that he can’t defend himself against these slurs compounds the tragedy of his death.
Bearden and William Brown, 20, whom Kelly Evans describes as a relative of her landlord, are accused of stabbing Skipper 20 times and dumping his body on the shoulder of a road. Brown later told someone that Ryan Skipper was “messing with him,” that Ryan Skipper was a homosexual, so [he] killed him.
All of this brings to mind memories of the murder of college student Matthew Shepard in Wyoming a decade ago. Like Ryan Skipper, who was 25 years old, Shephard was killed violently by two young men and left to die on the side of a rural road.
As the Shephard case advanced, the killers tried to assert the “gay panic defense,” saying they were driven to temporary insanity by their victim’s alleged sexual advances. Later, they said they only wanted to rob him and never intended to kill him when they lashed him to a fence and bashed his head in.
Reports say Skipper’s murder is being treated as a hate crime. But what remains to be seen is whether entrenched homophobia will prevent this heinous crime from being investigated and tried objectively.
- Topic: News & Comment
- Topics: Congress, Fox News
The timeline of events of early morning March 14, 2007 come from a criminal and are treated as the Gospel because EVERYONE knows that criminals are THE MOST God-honest people on earth!
Amazing. I’m sure they also believe it when a rapist says his victim had it coming to her because she made the mistake of having a vagina.
Some days I hate being a human being. Especially in instances when others of my species don’t bother to use the higher brain functions they should come by naturally.
What kind of sheriff would attack the victim without even double checking with the roomate? Seriously it sounds like the sheriff has a problem with homophobia as well. If I was the family I would definitely sue him for slander. People believe law enforcement statements, and he repeated the story of the suspected murderer as the truth, and not as what it was-the story of defense from a criminal. Wow, I am glad that I dont live in Polk county!
Simply put, Polk County, Florida is not known for their tolerance, or education. It is NOT uncommon for the Police/Sheriff to discriminate against the GLBT Communities. In fact, it’s all too familiar!
I have known Ryan for about eight years, and at one point we were room mates. I know him pretty well, and let me tell you: THIS IS NOT RYAN! Ryan was attractive, and never had to “look” for a date. He was considered “a catch” to most of the Gay Community within his general area. Ryan also would NOT just pick someone up off the side of the road – he just wasn’t like that. Ryan was very naive, and quite timid in nature. He was a “happy go lucky” type of person, far from the picture that was originally painted of him. He was not an addict, not a felon, and not a crook.
What he WAS, was a young kid with his entire life ahead of him. He was sweet, caring, generous, and hopeful. He was not the type of person that would “hurt a fly”…seriously.
I’ve cried so many tears over his passing – knowing the type of person he is/was – knowing what must have been going through his mind that night – knowing that Ryan was not a fighter – it rocks me to the core on a daily basis!
Everyone who knew Ryan, loved him. No one understands…no one can wrap their brains around it… It’s a tragic end to such a promising future.
I mourn the loss of my little grinning buddy…the only person I know that greeted everyone he ever met with the biggest, brightest, and most welcoming smile I’ve ever seen.
It doesn’t matter wether Ryan was out looking to pick a man up (which I don’t believe he was doing) or not! Those guys had no right to take his life!NONE! Since seemed to be such a kind person, he probably thought those guys were cool, and talked with them, or gave them a ride or something!those guys might have just found him and killed him! I don’t know! This case has brought tears to my eyes that someone can hate a person bcuz they are different! Its so funny how society is, you can be the greatest anything in the world, but be a little(just a little gay, and all the good you have done goes out the window, like you never did it! Ill put it to you like this, if monica lewinski had been a man, they would have impeached bill clinton (no offense to Bill Clinton, just an example) IMMEDIATELY! This whole case really upsets me! My heart goes out more to Ryan Skippers family, but also the families of those who committed this HORRIBLE crime! Even though joseph bearden was found guilty, and got life, ev en if the other defandant gets the same sentence,there is still no victory, because Ryan Skipper is no longer alive! If we could bring him back, that’s the only way I could even fathom a victory!