Araujo jury re-hears testimony, may be close to verdict

Jurors in the murder trial of transgender teenager Gwen Araujo listened to transcripts of pathologists' testimony on Wednesday, which some court observers interpreted as a sign the jury is close to returning a verdict.

The jury has been deliberating since last Thursday in Hayward, Calif.

Michael Magidson, 23, and Jose Merel and Jason Cazares, both 24, are accused of killing Araujo on Oct. 4, 2002. The three face 25 years to life in prison, if convicted.

The jury's request may mean the members are on the verge of reaching a verdict, according to Christopher Daley, co-director of the Transgender Law Center, who is closely following the case. "There's definitely some buzz that that's all they needed to render their decision," he said.

Daley told the PlanetOut Network there are at least two possible reasons the jury needed to review transcripts.

Daley said jurors might have wanted to hear specifics about whether Araujo was punched, due to conflicting testimony during the trial. He said there might also be questions about the culpability of co-defendant Merel, who did not testify during the trial.

Cazares, who did testify, said he did take part in the killing and in fact tried several times to stop his friends.

A fourth man, Jaron Nabors, 21, pleaded guilty to the lesser crime of manslaughter in exchange for becoming the prosecution's star witness. He faces an 11-year prison sentence.

Nabors testified that Araujo, 17, was punched, beaten with a skillet and choked at Merel's house in Newark, before her body was buried in a shallow grave near the Sierra foothills, 150 miles away.

Araujo was killed after the men discovered that although she lived as a young woman, she had been born a male. Both Magidson and Merel had previously had sex with the victim.

Daley said, in his opinion, the jury could come back with a verdict as early as Thursday.