The hunt for the killer of a gay black teen who was found near a lake in Angie two weeks ago continues, and the Southern Poverty Law Center is concerned it may have been a hate crime.
17-year-old Ja’Quarius Taylor was found shot in the head only an hour after being reported missing by his mother. Washington Parish Sheriff’s chief deputy Mike Haley says it’s their office’s primary focus.
“Our detectives are devoting all of their resources to trying to solve this crime, and those resources include working with federal agencies, including the FBI,” says Haley.
Haley adds they’re currently reviewing a key piece of evidence discovered in the lake by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s dive team.
The SPLC is demanding no stone be left unturned in the case given what they say is the history of failure by law enforcement agencies in the Deep South to solve, or even investigate anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.
“There are definitely reasons to believe that Ja’Quarius’ murder was motived at least in part by animus against him as a gay man and a young gay black man in particular,” says SPLC staff attorney Tyler Clemons.
The FBI estimates nearly one in five hate crimes are motivated by anti-LGBTQ bias.
But Haley says it’s too early to start labeling the killing a hate crime, and they don’t have the evidence yet to make that determination.
“SPLC will do anything they can to stir the pot and to enhance their fundraising capabilities. Is this a hate crime? We don’t know,” says Haley.
