Pride & Prejudice: 4 Decades of LGBTQ+ Murders

This Pride Month special explores the disturbing pattern of LGBTQ+ activists' deaths being systematically misclassified as suicides despite evidence of hate crimes. We examine how visibility became a death sentence for those who dared to live openly when society demanded silence.

• Scott Johnson's death at Sydney's Bluefish Point in 1988 was immediately ruled suicide despite no evidence of depression
• His brother Steve spent 34 years fighting for justice, uncovering at least 80 similar suspicious deaths of gay men in Sydney
• Harvey Milk's 1978 assassination revealed how the justice system failed to acknowledge anti-gay motivation
• Marsha P Johnson's body was found in the Hudson River with evidence suggesting murder, not suicide
• Police departments consistently used "lifestyle" terminology to blame victims and avoid investigating hate crimes
• Contemporary activists still face targeted violence, from Marielle Franco in Brazil to state-sponsored persecution in Chechnya
• Modern technology and advocacy have improved responses, but trans women of color remain disproportionately vulnerable
• Speaking the names of those who were silenced becomes an act of resistance and protection for future generations

If you or someone you know is experiencing anti-LGBTQ+ harassment or violence, contact organizations like The Trevor Project or local LGBTQ+ centers for support and resources.

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Transcript

Sandi McKenna 0:00

December 10th 1988 . Dawn breaks over the jagged cliffs of Sydney's North Head . A jogger moves along the coastal path , the salt air sharp in his lungs , until something down below stops him cold . At the bottom of Bluefish Point . Waves are washing over what looks like a body . The police arrive , they take a few photos , ask a few questions and within hours they've made their decision Suicide .

Sandi McKenna 0:29

Welcome to our special Pride Month episode . Today we're diving into something that will make your blood boil and your heart break in equal measure . We're talking about activists , people who dared to live openly , to fight for equality , to be visible when visibility could get you killed . And we're talking about what happened when someone decided their voices needed to be silenced . From a cliptop in Australia to the halls of San Francisco City Hall , from the Hudson River to the streets of Brazil . There's a pattern here that law enforcement spent decades refusing to see . These weren't random crimes , these weren't accidents and they definitely weren't suicides . So stay with us , because over the next hour we are going to walk you through the stories of those whose lives and deaths demand to be heard . And here's the part that will haunt you how many more cases like these are still sitting in filing cabinets , misclassified and ignored , waiting for someone to finally ask the right questions . Let's find out . I'm Sandy McKenna and , along with Abraham Ulrich , welcome to this special Pride Month episode of Sinners and Secrets Audio Jungle Audio . Jungle Audio .

Abraham Aurich 2:24

Jungle . Scott Johnson , just 27 , lies

The Formula

Abraham Aurich 2:28

twisted on the rocks beneath Bluefish Point . The officers take one look Gay man known meeting spot . They call it suicide , case closed . But here's what they never asked Was Scott depressed ? Was he struggling ? The answer , by all accounts , is no . He was thriving , working on his PhD in mathematics , in love with his partner Michael , making plans , building a future . But what Scott was was visible , openly , gay , out and proud . And in 1988 , sydney , that kind of courage could cost him his life .

Abraham Aurich 3:03

What police dismissed as an isolated suicide was part of something much bigger and much darker . Between 1976 and 2000 , at least 80 men died under suspicious circumstances around Sydney 80 . Yes , let that sink in . They called the locations Gay Beats , bluefish Point , marks Park , bondi Beach , places where men went to find connection , privacy , maybe even love . But they were being turned into hunting grounds .

Abraham Aurich 3:31

Packs of teenage boys , sometimes as young as 14 , would roam these cliffs looking for targets . They called it poofer bashing . To them it wasn't a hate crime , it was a pastime . The playbook was always the same them . It wasn't a hate crime , it was a pastime . The playbook was always the same Corner a man . Rob him , beat him , throw him off a cliff if they felt like it . And when the body was found , simple Gay man , known meeting place must have jumped out of shame .

Abraham Aurich 3:58

The perfect crime , because the cops were already writing the ending . The more visible you were , the more danger you were in . If you were loud , proud or an activist , you were easier to find . And the Sydney police ? They had a saying when these cases came in One less to worry about . That's not an urban legend , it's a direct quote . And this wasn't just Sydney , it was the Castro District in San Francisco , the piers of New York City , small town , big cities . The formula stayed the same Find a victim , silence them . Let society's shame do the rest . Who was going to fight for people the world had already written off ? But silence didn't win , at least not forever , because someone always fights back . And who did ? Scott Johnson's family , that's who . Harvey Milk's friends , marsha P Johnson's community , people who refused to believe that love was a reason to die or that pride was a crime . But we're getting ahead of ourselves here . Let's go back to that December morning in 1988 and talk about what really happened to Scott Johnson and why it took 34 years to call it what it was murder .

Sandi McKenna 5:07

Let me tell you about Scott Johnson Not the

Scott Johnson's Fight for Justice

Sandi McKenna 5:11

victim , the person Because that's where this story really starts and what makes what happened to him so damn infuriating . He was 27, . Brilliant , fearless . Scott had moved from California to Sydney to pursue his PhD in mathematics at the Australian National University . This was 1988 . Being openly gay wasn't just brave , it was revolutionary . And Scott , he wasn't hiding from anyone . Tall , sandy-haired , with this infectious laugh that his friends still talk about , he lived in Lane Cove with his boyfriend , michael Noon , and , by all accounts , they were happy , really , really happy . He was doing groundbreaking work in math , had a tight-knit circle of friends and he was planning a bright , wide-open future . He wasn't depressed , he wasn't struggling with his identity and he was planning a bright , wide-open future . He wasn't depressed , he wasn't struggling with his identity and he wasn't suicidal . Remember that it becomes very important later . December 10 , 1988 .

Sandi McKenna 6:16

Saturday morning , scott tells Michael he's going for a walk , something he often did . He loved the coastal trails , the cliffside views . He headed toward North Head , specifically Bluefish Point . Hours pass , scott doesn't return . Michael starts calling around . Friends haven't seen him by evening . He's frantic . He calls the police .

Sandi McKenna 6:41

The next morning , that jogger we mentioned earlier finds Scott's body on the rocks below Bluefish Point . He's been in the water , battered by the waves , but it's obvious he fell from a significant height . Here's what the police did they took photos . They noted that his clothes were found neatly folded at the top of the cliff . Noted that his clothes were found neatly folded at the top of the cliff . They asked Michael a few routine questions and within 24 hours they had made up their minds Suicide . No canvassing of witnesses , no forensic testing of the clothing , no exploration into whether those clothes were folded by Scott or by someone else . No mention of the fact that Bluefish Point was a well-known gay meeting spot and the site of repeated anti-gay attacks . Case closed , filed away .

Sandi McKenna 7:37

But 8,000 miles away in California , scott's older brother , steve Johnson , started getting calls that didn't make sense . They spoke often . Scott sounded upbeat , excited . Even Just days earlier he'd called Steve about his research and about coming home for Christmas . Steve started asking questions and the more he asked , the less the official story made sense .

Sandi McKenna 7:59

First , the location . Bluefish Point wasn't just a scenic overlook . It was part of what locals called the gay beat Secluded areas where men met for connection , privacy and intimacy , but also places where gay men were targeted , attacked , killed . Second , the clothes Police claimed Scott folded them neatly before jumping . But his friends said he was meticulous . He'd never leave his things exposed like that , especially with rain in the forecast .

Sandi McKenna 8:28

Third , the injuries . Scott had defensive wounds on his hands , on his arms , wounds that didn't match a simple fall . But when Steve tried to get answers he hit a wall . The New South Wales police weren't interested . They had their ruling and they were sticking to it . So Steve did what any loving brother would do when the system failed . He became the detective the police refused to be . He flew back and forth for years , hired private investigators , interviewed witnesses the police never had contacted . Investigators , interviewed witnesses the police never had contacted . He studied tides , weather and topography . He dug into the growing pattern of gay hate crimes that Sydney police had quietly buried and what he uncovered was horrifying .

Sandi McKenna 9:17

Between 1976 and 2000 , steve uncovered at least 80 suspicious deaths of gay men , each ruled suicide , drowning or accidental . Most were barely an investigation , some with no investigation at all . In 2005 , steve pushed for a second inquest . Deputy State Coroner Jacqueline Millage reviewed the evidence for months . She ruled the suicide finding was wrong . Scott's death was caused by violence , but she couldn't determine if it was murder or manslaughter . It was progress , but it wasn't justice . In 2012 , steve pushed for a third inquest . This time , coroner Michael Barnes went further . He found that Scott had died from a gay hate attack and criticized the original police investigation as deeply flawed . Still no charges , no arrests , no accountability .

Sandi McKenna 10:17

But in 2017 , everything shifted . The New South Wales government offered a $1 million reward for information leading to gay hate crime convictions and suddenly people started talking . One of them was Scott White , a teenager in 1988 , a man with a history of violence against gay men , a man who had been in the area of Bluefish Point the day Scott died . A man who had been in the area of Bluefish Point the day Scott died . Under questioning , scott White admitted he'd crossed paths with Scott Johnson that day , that there was an altercation and finally , that he attacked him because he was gay . On May 2 , 2022 , 33 years , 4 months and 22 days after Scott Johnson's death , scott White was convicted of his murder . During sentencing , justice Helen Wilson said what Scott's family had waited decades to hear the victim did nothing wrong . The victim was targeted and killed because he was gay . But what makes this story not just heartbreaking but hopeful is this Scott Johnson's case unlocked dozens of others .

Sandi McKenna 11:33

Steve's relentless pursuit of truth forced the government to confront what they had spent years denying .

Sandi McKenna 11:41

Today , a special police unit reviews gay hate crime . Cold cases from that era Families once told their sons or brothers took their own lives are finally getting real investigations . Steve Johnson spent 34 years fighting for his brother . He mortgaged his home , depleted his savings , devoted every spare moment to seeking justice , and when asked why he never gave up , he said something that still gives me chills . Scott was my little brother . He deserved better than what they gave him . They all deserved better , and that's what this story is really about , not just one death or even one family's fight . It's about a system that failed an entire community , about how prejudice and indifference can be just as deadly as a weapon , but it's also about the power of love , of persistence and of refusing to let injustice stand just because it's easier . Scott Johnson died because he was gay and visible at the time when visibility could cost you everything . But his story lived because Steve refused to let him be erased , and that refusal to let him vanish that's what changed everything .

Abraham Aurich 12:57

November 27 , 1978 , monday morning

Harvey Milk - Shot in the Heart of Change

Abraham Aurich 13:01

, harvey Milk walks the halls of San Francisco City Hall with a spring in his step . Just a week earlier , california voters rejected Proposition 6 , a ballot measure that would have banned gay teachers from teaching public schools . Harvey had campaigned tirelessly against it and the victory it felt like a turning point . He had no idea he had less than two hours to live . Let's go back , because Harvey Milk's story isn't just about how he died . It was about who he was and why his life mattered . Harvey was 48 , a former Wall Street analyst , turned camera shop owner , who found his true calling in politics . He wasn't just out out . He was loudly out , defiantly , joyfully , unapologetically gay at a time when that could destroy your career , your family , your life .

Abraham Aurich 13:51

Harvey ran for San Francisco supervisor three times before finally winning in 1977 , becoming the first openly gay elected official in California . He didn't win by playing it safe . He won by being exactly who he was . His campaign slogan Harvey Milk vs the Machine . And it fit . He was up against the old guard , the insiders , the ones who thought San Francisco should never change . But Harvey was to change and he was winning . Not everybody was happy . Dan White was everything . Harvey wasn't 32 years old , a former police officer and firefighter , a devout Catholic , a believer in traditional values , he was elected to the board of supervisors the same year as Harvey , representing a conservative district that was growing uneasy with San Francisco's shift towards progressivism . Where Harvey was inclusive and expressive , white was rigid and resentful . Where Harvey fought for the marginalized , white defended law and order . They clashed often and their mutual dislike was no secret . In October 1978 , white abruptly resigned from the board , citing financial pressures . The salary of $19,600 a year wasn't enough to support his family . But almost immediately he has second thoughts . He lobbied Mayor George Moscone to reappoint him . At first Moscone seemed inclined to do it , but Harvey Milk and other progressive supervisors pushed back . They urged Moscone to appoint someone aligned with the city's future . They urged Moscow to appoint someone aligned with the city's future , not its past . On November 26 , the day before the murderers , moscow called White , told him he wouldn't be reappointed . He was choosing a more liberal replacement instead . Dan White was furious .

Abraham Aurich 15:38

The next morning , on November 27 , white put on his best suit . Then he did something . No one noticed , but should have . He strapped on his service revolver , a .38 caliber Smith Weston . He arrived at City Hall around 10 am . But instead of walking through the front doors and passing through the metal detectors , he climbed through a basement window . He knew how to bypass security . Of course he had worked there . He went straight to Mayor Moscon's office . Moscon , expecting a conversation , let him

Abraham Aurich 16:08

in . The first shot hit Moscon in the shoulder , the second into his chest . The mayor collapsed . Then White walked over to where Moscon laid , wounded but still alive , and fired two more shots at point-blank range into his head . But White wasn't finished , not yet at least . He reloaded his gun , crossed the building to Harvey Mills' office and asked to speak with him privately . Harvey , unaware of what had just happened , said yes . They stepped into a small side room . Moments later Harvey was dead , shot five times , two of them fired execution style into his head , after he'd already fallen . By 11.30 am both men were

Abraham Aurich 16:53

gone . Dan White calmly walked out of City Hall , drove to the nearest police station and turned himself in to a former colleague . His precise words were simple I shot the mayor and Harvey . The city erupted . Thousands gathered in the Castro District , harvey's neighborhood . Candlelight vigils stretched for blocks . People wept in the streets . This wasn't just the murder of two politicians . This was an assault on everything the city's progressive movement stood for . But if the public expected justice , they were in for a

Abraham Aurich 17:25

heartbreak . Dan White's trial began in May 1979 . His legal team , led by Douglas Schmidt , mounted a controversial strategy the diminished capacity defense . Now let's be clear . The infamous Twinkie defense didn't claim junk food caused the murderers . What the defense argued was that White's junk food binge , candy bars , coca-cola was a symptom of deep depression , that his mental state was impaired by his inability to form intent . Psychiatrists smart and blind testify that White's shift from health food to sugar and snacks was proof of emotional collapse . But here's the problem this wasn't a spontaneous act . White brought a loaded gun . He avoided security . He reloaded after killing the mayor , then executed

Abraham Aurich 18:14

Milk . The prosecution argued for first-degree murder . They pointed to all the signs of premeditation . But they made a critical mistake . They barely mentioned Harvey Milk's sexuality . They never framed it as a hate crime . Maybe they thought it was obvious . Maybe they didn't want to stir things up further . Maybe they underestimated the cost of silence . Whatever the reason , it was a miscalculation that would haunt San Francisco for decades . On May 21 , 1979 , the judge delivered their verdict Voluntary manslaughter , not first-degree murder , not second-degree murder . The man who executed two elected officials would be eligible for parole in just five

Abraham Aurich 18:58

years . That night the Castro district exploded . What began as a peaceful vigil became the White Nights Riot . Protesters stormed City Hall Windows were shattered , police cars burned . Over 140 people were injured , dozens were arrested . The gay community had reached its breaking point . Dan White had served five years in one month . He was released in 1984 . Less than two years later he took his own life carbon monoxide poison in a

Abraham Aurich 19:29

garage . But the question never really left . Was this political rage a personal vendetta ? Or was Harvey's identity , the fact that he was proudly publicly gay , the reason why White killed him ? Here's what we know . Dan White made homophobic comments throughout his time in office . He opposed every piece of gay rights legislation and after the murderers , he told the police Harvey was trying to turn San Francisco into a playground for homosexuals . A direct quote here's what we don't know and may never know . Was that hatred the reason Harvey Milk died , or just one more layer in a tragedy shaped by rage , repression and

Abraham Aurich 20:13

fear ? What we do know is this Harvey Milk's assassination lit a fire under the LGBTQ plus rights movement that even his life hadn't sparked yet . The death became a rallying cry . His story became legend , and his message that visibility matters , that pride is powerful , echoed beyond San Francisco . Harvey once said If a bullet should enter my brain , let that bullet destroy every closed door In death . He got his wish , and that bullet didn't just tear through one man . It tore open a national conversation . But it also revealed something darker how easily justice can fail when the victim is seen as other . How easily a hate crime can be reframed as something easier to swallow . Dan White didn't just kill Harvey Milk . He tried to kill the idea Harvey represented that LGBTQ plus people deserve not just tolerance , but acceptance , respect and power . And while the idea was wounded , that day , harvey's legacy proved stronger than the bullet that tried to stop it .

Sandi McKenna 21:25

Before we talk about how Marsha P Johnson died ,

Marsha P Johnson - The Queen of Stonewall

Sandi McKenna 21:29

we need to talk about how she lived boldly , defiantly and with a fire that still burns decades later . June 28 , 1969 . The Stonewall Inn is under siege , but this time the fight isn't coming from the outside , it's erupting from within . Decades of police raids , harassment and brutality have pushed the LGBTQ plus community to its breaking point . And right there in the thick of it , throwing bottles and leading chance , is a 24-year-old black transgender woman named Marsha P Johnson . The P , she said with a sly smile , stood for pay it no mind .

Sandi McKenna 22:15

Marshall was born Malcolm Michaels Jr in 1945 in Elizabeth , new Jersey . She knew from an early age that she was different , but in the 1950s and 60s there weren't words for what she felt and there definitely wasn't acceptance . At 17 , she made her way to Greenwich Village with just $15 and a bag of clothes . She took the name Marsha and lived her truth loudly and unapologetically . Marsha was impossible to miss . She stood over six feet tall and wore elaborate wigs , bright makeup and outfits that blended costume , protest and art . Feathers , flowers , bangles , rhinestones . Every look told a story and every story was unmistakably Marcia . But she wasn't just a performer , she was a protector . She was a protector , a revolutionary who understood that for people like her , survival and resistance were the same thing . After Stonewall , marsha co-founded STAR Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries with her best friend , sylvia Rivera . Star wasn't just an organization , it was a lifeline . Their Star House gave shelter to homeless LGBTQ plus youth , especially trans women of color , with nowhere else to go . And let's be clear , this was dangerous work . In the 1970s and 80s , being openly trans , especially if you were black and poor , was nearly a death sentence . Marcia lived with that threat every single day , but she never stopped showing up , never stopped opening her door , never stopped fighting .

Sandi McKenna 24:10

By 1992 , marcia was 46 years old and still fighting . She'd been hospitalized for mental health episodes , what doctors called mania . But that summer friends said she was doing well , she was excited about pride , she had plans , projects , purpose . Then came July 6 , 1992 . A Monday morning her body was found floating in the Hudson River near the Christopher Street Pier . The pier back then was a haven for LGBTQ plus youth , especially kids who'd been kicked out of their homes . It was also a place where trans women met clients because for many sex work was the only way to survive . But the pier was dangerous Violence , assaults , drownings . It was the kind of place where someone could vanish and no one would ask too many questions .

Sandi McKenna 25:06

When Marsh's body was found , the NYPD moved fast , too fast . They ruled it suicide . No real investigation , no witness interviews , no consideration of the fact that Marcia wasn't suicidal . Here's what the police didn't ask . Marcia had been at a Pride event the night before she was last seen leaving around 1 am with someone no one recognized . She had future plans . She was excited about what was to come next . Here's what else they didn't ask . There was blunt force trauma to her head , a wound that suggested she'd been struck or thrown . But here's what says it all about how the NYPD valued Marsha's life . They didn't perform an autopsy . For weeks Her body sat in the morgue decomposing while someone decided whether her death was worth investigating . And when they finally did perform an autopsy , there was no water in her lungs . Think about that If she had jumped or fallen into the river and drowned , there would have no water in her lungs . Think about that If she had jumped or fallen into the river and drowned , there would have been water in her lungs . The absence of water suggested she was already dead when she entered the water , but the ruling stood Suicide .

Sandi McKenna 26:28

For 20 years , marsha's friends and community demanded answers . They were ignored , dismissed , told to move on . Then , in 2012 , something shifted . Filmmaker David France released the Death and Life of Marsha P Johnson , a documentary that pulled the curtain back on her case . It featured interviews with Marsha's friends , activists , experts and exposed just how flawed the original investigation had been . And it revealed something chilling . In the two weeks before her death , marsha had told friends she was being harassed . She said she was scared that someone was following her .

Sandi McKenna 27:11

The documentary and the pressure it created finally forced the NYPD to reopen her case . Detective Ryan Cronin was assigned to reinvestigate . But by then the trail was cold . Witnesses had died , evidence was gone , memories had faded . What Detective Cronin did uncover was damning . Witnesses who saw Marcia with someone that night were never interviewed . Friends who said she wasn't suicidal were dismissed without statements and Marcia's purse Never found . She'd been seen carrying money from a recent gig In the world . Marcia lived in robbery .

Sandi McKenna 27:52

Homicides were tragically common , but rarely taken seriously . As of today , marsha P Johnson's death remains officially unsolved . The case has been reclassified as a homicide investigation , but there have been no arrests , no charges , no justice . What Marsha's story really shows us is this Society saw her as disposable and in many ways still does . She was a pioneer , a revolutionary , a mother to a movement , and yet when she died , she was just another dead trans woman .

Sandi McKenna 28:29

In the eyes of the NYPD , the intersection of racism and transphobia creates a perfect storm of indifference . Black trans women are murdered at disproportionate rates . Their deaths are rarely investigated with urgency or respect . Marsha's case wasn't an outlier . It was part of a pattern . Today that's starting to change .

Sandi McKenna 28:54

Marsha is finally being honored . Monuments are going up , scholarships are being funded and her work her real work continues through grassroots organizations supporting LGBTQ plus youth . But maybe the most important tribute is this People who are finally asking the right questions about her death . They're demanding answers . They're refusing to let her story stay buried . Portia P Johnson spent her life fighting for a world where people like her black , trans , poor , loud , beautiful could live safely , openly and with dignity . She didn't live to see that world realized , and if her death tells us anything , it's that she may have died because that world didn't yet exist . 30 years later , we're still asking the question Marsha might have asked when will Black trans lives matter enough to get justice ? When will the system that failed her be forced to face that failure . The answer is we're still waiting .

Abraham Aurich 30:00

March 14th 2018 , rio de Janeiro , brazil .

Erased Across Borders

Abraham Aurich 30:04

Just after 9 pm , Mariel Franco leaves a panel of Black women in politics Still glowing from the energy in the room . She climbs into the backseat of her car with her press advisor , anderson Gomes . Her driver pulls away from the cultural center and makes it exactly four blocks . Another car pulls up alongside them at a traffic light and , without warning , gunfire Thirteen shots , nine of which hit their mark . Mario Franco and Anderson Gomes died immediately . Mario Franco and Anderson Gomes died immediately . The driver somehow survives . Let me tell you who Mario Franco was . Her life explains why her death sent shockwaves around the world .

Abraham Aurich 30:43

Mario Franco was everything the Brazilian establishment feared Black , a woman , openly bisexual and unwilling to stay quiet . She grew up in Meir , one of Rio's largest favelas , where police brutality was a daily reality for her . She grew up watching friends and neighbors disappear into a system that treated poor black lives as disposable . But Marielle didn't just survive . She rose above her origins . She went on to earn her master's degree in public administration , became a human rights activist and won a seat on the Rio City Council . Her platform Police Accountability , women's Rights , lgbtq Plus Rights and the End of the Military Occupation in Rio's Favelas . Marielle wasn't just talking . She was investigating , documenting , naming names . Days before her murder , she publicly criticized a violent police operation going on in her neighborhood by calling out a battalion known for its brutality . Needless to say , marielle Franco made powerful people nervous , and her murder it wasn't random . It was a message , a political hit carried out with military precision , the kind of operation that doesn't happen without permission . Seven years later , we have some answers . In 2023 , brazilian federal police arrested five men in connection with the crime , including two former police officers believed to have pulled the trigger , but the mastermind , the people who ordered the hit , they're still free . Mario's case shows us something chilling when LGBTQ plus activists also challenge state power , the danger multiplies . This isn't just about personal bias . This is institutional violence designed to silence dissent , and if you want to see what that looks like completely unrestrained , look no further than Chechnya .

Abraham Aurich 32:36

In 2017 , reports began emerging from this Russian republic , reports that should have shocked the world . Men were being rounded up , detained , tortured and , in some cases , killed because they were suspected of being gay . This was systematic , coordinated and brutal . Chechen's officials tracked people using their social media , dating apps and informants . These men were arrested , detained in secret facilities , literal concentration camps . Once there , they were beaten , electrocuted and even tortured . Some were released , others vanished , never to be seen again , even tortured . Some were released , others vanished , never to be seen again .

Abraham Aurich 33:17

Chechen's leader , razam Khodorov denied the whole thing . He said , quote if such people existed in Chechnya , law enforcement wouldn't need to worry about them . Their own families would send them to a place of no return . End quote Translation we don't have to kill them . Their own families would do it for us . This wasn't mob violence . It was state-sponsored genocide run by government officials , shielded by Moscow's silence and largely ignored by the rest of the world . International investigators documented the crimes , but prosecuted almost none . The men responsible still hold power . Then there's Mexico . The numbers alone are staggering .

Abraham Aurich 33:55

Between 2013 and 2020 , more than 400 trans people were murdered . Most of these murders followed a pattern Extreme violence , sexual assault , mutilation . These weren't crimes of passion . They were warnings meant to silence entire communities . And , as always , the more visible you are , the more at risk you become . Trans women who speak out , organize or refuse to hide become deliberate targets , like Alessa Flores , a trans rights activist murdered in 2020 . She had reported death threats to the police , begged for protection . The police ignored her . Then she was killed . Or Paola Buenarrostro she organized Mexico's first trans pride march . Weeks later , she was shot and left in the street .

Abraham Aurich 34:43

Message received . The pattern is undeniable . Whether it's Rios or Grozny , mexico City or Sydney , the message is the same Visibility became dangerous , speaking out is dangerous , challenging power is even more dangerous and the response Tragically consistent as well . These deaths don't get full investigation , these voices don't get preserved . But what connects them all , the men of Chechnya , the transhuman of Mexico , is this they knew silence was deadly and still they spoke up . They could have stayed quiet , could have disappeared , but they didn't , because they understood what their killers feared that love , justice and truth , when spoken out loud , are more powerful than violence and hate . It's 2025 and we're still burying the same victims , still having the same conversation , still fighting the same battles . The progress is real , but it's fragile and it's paid for in blood . Every pride flag , every marriage equality law and every anti-discrimination ordinance exists because someone risked their everything to make it happen , and for too many , that risk wasn't theoretical , it was fatal .

Sandi McKenna 35:57

It shows up in police

When the System Says "Suicide"

Sandi McKenna 35:59

reports across continents , across decades Two quiet words that have buried more truth than they've ever uncovered Probable suicide . Let me read you some of the headlines Gay man found dead at cliff base . Police rule suicide . Transgender woman found in river Apparent suicide . Lgbtq plus activist dies under suspicious circumstances Suicide suspected . Do you hear the pattern ? Because the families of these victims did and they started asking a very simple question why is suicide always the first assumption when LGBTQ plus people die under mysterious circumstances ?

Sandi McKenna 36:42

Let's go back to the cases we've covered . Scott Johnson , found at the bottom of the cliff , gay man remote area . No obvious struggle and close the file within hours Suicide . Never mind that Scott had no history of depression , never mind that he had plans for the future , never mind that the location was a well-known hotspot for anti-gay attacks . The narrative was too convenient to question . Marsha P Johnson , found floating in the Hudson River in 1992 . No thorough investigation , no interviews with friends who insisted she wasn't suicidal , no consideration of the blunt force trauma to her head .

Sandi McKenna 37:22

Here's what these cases had in common the victims were LGBTQ+ , the circumstances were suspicious and the authorities chose the explanation that required the least work , the fewest resources , the smallest amount of caring . When a straight , white , wealthy person dies mysteriously , there is an investigation , witnesses are interviewed , forensics analyzed , leads pursued . When an LGBTQ plus person , especially someone poor , trans or a person of color , dies the same way , the assumption changes . The thinking goes like this Well , these people live difficult lives . They face discrimination , rejection , mental health challenges . Of course they'd be suicidal . It's victim blaming dressed up as compassion and it kills . But in case after case , families refused to accept the easy explanation . These families saw what investigators didn't or wouldn't acknowledge that assuming suicide was often a way of avoiding the harder , messier work of investigating a hate crime .

Sandi McKenna 38:29

And slowly , painfully , the truth began to emerge . Not because the system worked , but because people outside the system refused to let it fail . Cold case units formed decades later started finding evidence that had been ignored or dismissed . Community organizers forced cases to be reopened . Documentaries brought public attention to deaths that had been filed away and forgotten . In Scott Johnson's case , a public reward finally pushed witnesses to come forward , people who'd seen gangs in the area that night information that could have been gathered in 1988 if anyone cared enough to look . Marsha P Johnson's case was reopened only after public outrage and documentary pressure forced the NYPD's hand . Even then , it took years for them to reclassify her death as a homicide . These cases could have been solved decades earlier if they'd been treated with the same care given to other victims . The evidence existed , the witnesses were there , the forensics were possible .

Sandi McKenna 39:36

What was missing was the belief that these lives mattered enough to investigate fully . And that belief , or lack of it , comes from somewhere . It comes from a society that still in many ways sees LGBTQ plus people as other , as tragic by default , as someone responsible for the violence they face , as living lives that naturally end in tragedy . And that bias doesn't just affect the individual cases , it blinds the entire system . When each death is treated as an isolated incident , when every suspicious death is quietly stamped suicide , authorities miss the bigger picture . They miss the organized gangs targeting gay men , the serial killers hunting trans women , the coordinated threats aimed at LGBTQ plus activists . It's only when activists and families demand a broader look that the patterns emerge Clusters of suicides at gay meeting spots , transgender women found dead under similar conditions , the same suspects appearing again and again across supposedly unconnected cases .

Sandi McKenna 40:44

Today , things are slowly shifting . Some police departments now have LGBTQ plus liaison units . Some jurisdictions have updated hate crime protocols . Some cold case units are reviewing historical LGBTQ plus deaths . But this change didn't come from the inside . It came because families and communities refused to accept probable suicide as the final word . They fought , they organized , they demanded better . Every reopened case , every overturned suicide ruling , every long overdue conviction , each one is a victory , not just for justice but for the principle that all lives deserve to matter equally under the law . But each one also represents something else a system failure , a life that might have been saved , answers that should have been found long ago . And now we have to ask ourselves how many more cases are out there still filed away as probable suicide , waiting for someone to care enough to look again ? How many families are still fighting for answers they should have gotten decades ago ? And how many have we already lost Because no one asked the right questions when it still mattered ?

Abraham Aurich 42:06

There's a word

The Legacy of Silence

Abraham Aurich 42:07

that appears again and again in police reports , newspaper articles and official statements about LGBTQ plus victims over the last 50 years . It's subtle , easy to miss , but once you see it , you can't unsee it . The word is lifestyle . The victim's lifestyle may have contributed to their death . Police are investigating whether the victim's lifestyle played a role . Given the victim's lifestyle , suicide cannot be ruled out . That single word carried the weight of an entire society's prejudice . It didn't describe an identity . It implied a choice , a risky one , a dangerous one , one that made violence seem not only predictable but almost deserved . This wasn't an oversight . It was editorial strategy , a way of reinforcing the idea that LGBTQ plus people were tragic , unsafe or other . And it worked Because , over time , lgbtq plus victims weren't treated as fully human . They became cautionary tales , not people , not lives worth protecting , not stories worth justice . But here's what that narrative erased so many of these victims weren't just living , they were leading . Harvey Milk wasn't just a gay man , he was reshaping California's politics . Marsha P Johnson wasn't just surviving , she was saving lives . Mario Franco she wasn't just bisexual , she was dismantling corruption , fighting police violence in Brazil . These weren't random acts of violence , these were strategic silences . People in power got uncomfortable . And when these changemakers were killed , the word lifestyle gave everyone else permission to look away . The legacy of that silence . It can be overstated . Imagine being LGBTQ plus in the 1970s , 80s or 90s and knowing that if something happened to you , society would shrug and say well , what did they expect ? So people hid , they stayed quiet . They didn't report violence , they didn't seek help , they lived . So people hid , they stayed quiet . They didn't report violence , they didn't seek help . They lived smaller , safer lives , not because they wanted to , but because being seen felt like a death sentence . And the cruel irony Most of the people we lost were the ones trying to change that . Marsha P Johnson was out there every day feeding that . Marsha P Johnson was out there every day feeding , sheltering and fighting for LGBTQ plus youth , but when she died she was dismissed . Just another tragic trans woman Harvey Milk . He proved gay leaders could be effective , respected and visionary , but his assassination was framed as well the cost of his controversial lifestyle .

Abraham Aurich 44:55

This framing had a purpose . It kept society from having to examine its role in LGBTQ plus violence . If these deaths were just part of that lifestyle , then we didn't have to question the law , the system , media and ourselves . It was victim blaming just dressed up in formal language . But language shapes reality and eventually LGBTQ plus voices began reshaping the narrative . Lifestyle became identity , choice became orientation and tragedy became what it often was a hate crime .

Abraham Aurich 45:32

Today's activists understand what their predecessors only dreamed of that visibility , while dangerous , is also powerful . That speaking out while risky is also how you change the world . And that silence , it , may protect you for a while , but it will never set you free . We haven't broken the silence completely . Trans women of color are still being murdered , queer people around the world still face state violence and the media still gets it wrong Too often in my opinion . But the framing has shifted , and that shift matters . We no longer accept lifestyle as an excuse for neglect . We demand names , investigation , accountability . The voices that were silenced didn't die in vain . They forced the world to listen , even in death , and their legacy it lives , not just in the cases we solve , but in the culture we're still fighting to change . One conversation at a time . One truth at a time . One conversation at a time .

Sandi McKenna 46:35

One truth at a time , one name at a time , february 2025

Now & Then - The Fight Continues

Sandi McKenna 46:40

. Somewhere in America , a transgender woman checks the news before heading out to work . Another headline , another law , another murder in her community . She sighs , she smooths her blouse and walks out the door anyway , because that's what survival looks like now . This is what it means to be LGBTQ in 2025 . The landscape has changed , but the danger hasn't disappeared . It's just evolved . Let me give you some numbers that haunt the headlines , if they even make the headlines at all .

Sandi McKenna 47:18

In 2024 , at least 36 transgender people were murdered in the US . That's that we know of the true number , almost certainly higher , because many deaths are misreported , deadnamed or erased before they're ever counted Globally . It's even more alarming before they're ever counted Globally . It's even more alarming In 2023 , the Trans Murder Monitoring Project documented over 320 murders of transgender and gender-diverse people . That's more than one death every day , and the pattern is painfully familiar 96% of those victims were transgender women , 80% were people of color .

Sandi McKenna 47:58

When racism , sexism and transphobia collide , the result isn't just inequality . It's fatal . But violence isn't only physical . In 2024 alone , over 500 anti-LGBTQ plus bills were introduced to the US state legislatures , bills targeting access to health care , education , bathrooms , even the right to simply exist in public . This isn't accidental , it's not isolated . It's a coordinated campaign . Families are fleeing states where their children can't access medical care , trans people are retreating into hiding and LGBTQ plus youth suicide rates are spiking . But 2025 feels different because the response is faster , louder , more unified . Take Nex Benedict , a 16-year-old non-binary student in Oklahoma . In February 2024 , nex was beaten at school and days later died . The police rushed a call it a suicide , but this time the system didn't bury the story . The police rushed to call it a suicide , but this time the system didn't bury the story . The community refused to let it . Within hours , lgbtq plus advocates were demanding answers , investigative journalists were on the case and the public was paying attention . Groups like the Human Rights Campaign , glaad and the National Center for Transgender Equality now operate rapid response teams . They monitor investigations , train families to deal with the media and keep names like Nexus from being forgotten .

Sandi McKenna 49:26

Digital activism has become a force of its own . Podcasts like the Dark and the Embedded prove that persistence can solve cold cases . Documentarians no longer wait for justice . They dig it up themselves . When the death and life of Marsha P Johnson dropped on Netflix , it did more than just tell a story . It shamed the NYPD into reopening her case . That's what happens when media is wielded by people who care .

Sandi McKenna 49:52

Technology cuts both ways . Dating apps now include safety tools , but they also expose users to hate . Social media connects isolated queer youth , but it also becomes a bullhorn for threats . Still , data is improving . The FBI's hate crime reports now break down anti-LGBTQ plus violence . Local grassroots trackers fill in the gaps when law enforcement drops the ball .

Sandi McKenna 50:18

Legally , we've come a long way since Harvey Milk's murder . The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act expanded federal protections to cover LGBTQ plus victims . Hate crime laws now exist in most US jurisdictions , but laws don't enforce themselves . Prosecutors still have to press charges , juries still have to believe the victims mattered , and police they still have to investigate with care . And the threats keep coming .

Sandi McKenna 50:47

Online harassment campaigns , doxing , coordinated messaging , politicians exploiting transphobia to win elections . The tactics change , but the goal stays the same Make LGBTQ plus people afraid , make them invisible , make them quiet . So where are we now ? We live in a time of progress and backlash side by side . Same-sex marriage is law , but transgender teenagers are being denied basic medical care . Drag performers have TV shows , but not legal protection to perform in public .

Sandi McKenna 51:21

What's keeping people alive isn't policy , it's people . Organizations like the Trevor Project answer crisis calls 24-7 . Local LGBTQ plus centers offer therapy , housing , help , legal aid or just a room where you can exhale . Online , queer kids in conservative towns are finding friends they've never met . That's new , that's powerful , and visibility that once felt like a death sentence has become its own form of protection . It's harder to disappear someone whose name trends on Twitter . The fight continues because it must . Because tonight a transgender woman walks home keys in hand , hoping she gets there . Because somewhere , a gay teenager wonders if it's safe to be honest . Because somewhere an LGBTQ plus activist is hitting post knowing it might put a target on their back . The names we've spoken tonight Scott Johnson , marsha P Johnson , harvey Milk , marielle Franco they matter because they remind us every LGBTQ plus life has value . Every unexplained death deserves a second look . Every voice silenced leaves us all a little weaker . The fight isn't over . It won't be over Not until no one has to choose between love and life , between authenticity and safety , between being visible and being alive .

Abraham Aurich 52:44

Say a name that was meant to be forgotten , any name , and listen to

Memory Is a Weapon

Abraham Aurich 52:48

what happens . You feel it . The way the air shifts , the way silence becomes electric , because somewhere someone was counting on that name never being spoken again . This is why memory terrifies those in power , not just because it represents facts , but because it preserves truth . And truth , once spoken , demands a response . When we remember Harvey Milk , we're not just honoring a murdered politician . We're confronting a world where a man could be gunned down for being openly gay and his killer could serve just five years . When we speak Marsha P Johnson's name , we're not just recalling a pioneer . We are calling out 30 years of silence , 30 years of refusal to ask the hard questions about how and why she died .

Abraham Aurich 53:40

Memory excavates Every time we revisit a story that was buried , we reveal the system that tried to erase it . Every cold case reopened is an admission that justice failed the first time . Every overturned suicide ruling is proof that bias wore a badge . And that's exactly why these stories were meant to disappear , because they revealed uncomfortable truth about who the system protects and who it discards . But memory , it spreads . When one person starts asking questions , others join in . When one family refuses to accept silence . Other families find their courage . When one journalist investigates a cold case , others follow and suddenly those cases don't seem so cold anymore .

Abraham Aurich 54:26

Telling these stories doesn't just honor the dead , it arms the living . It gives language to experience , validation , to suspicion and proof that your instincts about injustice are real . Because when we refuse to let people be erased , we make erasure impossible . When a documentary forces a police department to reopen a case , when a podcast unearths new witnesses , when families finally get the investigation their loved ones deserve , that's memory weaponized . Every visual that reads the names of the lost is a dedication of defiance . Every chant , every mural , every candlelight march across streets once stained by violence . It's memory made visible . And it's not just about the names we know . It's about the ones we never learned , the ones buried in case files marked no further action , the ones erased so thoroughly we can't even mourn them . For every Scott Johnson whose case made headlines , how many never did . For every Mario Franco who became a symbol , how many activists vanished without a trace ? This is why memory matters , because it creates space and those stories will never recover . Every name we speak makes room for the names we can't . And maybe most importantly , memory shapes the future .

Abraham Aurich 55:52

When young , lgbtq plus people hear these stories . They understand they're part of a lineage . They learned that their right to exist , to love , to speak , was earned through unimaginable loss . They learned that their lives mattered because someone else's life mattered first . And they learned something else , too that the fight isn't over . The forces that killed Harvey Milk , that erased Marsha P Johnson , that silenced Mario Franco those forces still exist , but now so do we . Every story we tell creates a record that can't be undone . Every episode , every name , every investigation builds an archive of truth , one that would outlast the people who tried to bury it . This is the power of memory as resistance . It turns victims into witnesses , it turns silence into testimony . It turns endings into beginnings . The people we've spoken about tonight , they're not gone . They are here in these words , in these demands , in this ongoing fight for justice . Memory is a weapon and , in the right hands , it proves that love outlives hate , that truth endures beyond lies and that some voices once heard can never be truly silenced .

Sandi McKenna 57:08

I'm not a politician , I'm not a doctor . I'm a wife , I'm a mother , I'm a grandparent , I'm a friend . I'm a human being . And that's exactly why I decided to talk about this , because when any person in our community faces harm for just being who they are , it affects all of us our neighbors , our families , our schools .

Sandi McKenna 57:29

You don't have to understand someone's entire story to want them to be safe . You don't have to agree on everything to believe that every person deserves to come home to their family each night . I was raised to protect people who can't protect themselves , to stand up for the vulnerable . That's not politics . That's just being human .

Call to Action

Sandi McKenna 57:48

We're losing neighbors to violence and fear , and when good people stay quiet , the loudest voices aren't always the kindest ones . So I decided to speak up because I believe most of us , deep down , want the same thing Communities where everyone can belong , where our differences don't divide us , but where our shared humanity brings us together . Everybody deserves to have their children safe , their friends safe , their parents safe . We all deserve a peace of mind , and that's why it's so important .

Abraham Aurich 58:18

Before you close this tab , before the world rushes back

Outro

Abraham Aurich 58:22

in , I would like you to remember something . Tomorrow morning , someone will sit in their car outside their parents' house wondering if it's safe to come out . Someone will cross a dark parking lot after a night out scanning every shadow . Someone will choose whether to speak up at school , at work , at home , knowing it could cost them everything . But what you do , what you choose to do with what you've heard tonight , may be the reason they make it home .

Abraham Aurich 58:51

We told you about the ones we lost , but we haven't told you enough about the ones who survived the teenager who didn't take their own life because someone at the Trevor Project picked up the phone . The trans woman who escaped a death sentence because Rambo Railroad got her out . The victim who saw their attacker convicted because someone demanded the case be reopened . Those victories happen because people like you refuse to look away . Everyone we talked about here tonight . They're gone . They can't vote , they can't speak up , they can't protect anyone anymore . But you can . You are their voice now , their vote , their second chance at justice . I am Abraham Alrick and , along with Sandy McKenna , we want to thank you for joining us on this episode of Sinners and Secrets . If you liked this episode , consider subscribing , liking and sharing , and leave a comment and tell us what you think about the episode . Until next time , keep questioning , keep seeking , and may your journey be as rich and enlightening as the stories you encounter .