Spain: Gay Panic Defense Wins Acquittal In Horrific Double Murder

Andres Duque is reporting a gruesome story out of Spain where a man was just acquitted of his confessed murder of two gay men because of his claim of "homosexual panic."

27 year old Isaac Ali Dani Peréz Triviño was born in Spain. 32 year old Julio Anderson Luciano was born in Brazil. They lived together in the Spanish province of Vigo and were planning to get married. Both were stabbed to death by Jacobo Piñeiro Rial in their apartment in the early morning of January 13th, 2006. The bodies showed a total of 57 stab wounds, according to forensics. After killing them, Piñeiro took a shower and cleaned himself up. He filled a suitcase with some of their belongings to make it look like a robbery and then spilled clothing all over the place. He poured alcohol over everything, including his victims' bodies, turned on the gas spigot on the stove, and set everything on fire. The local fire department said that little evidence would have survived if it wasn't for their prompt response to the 5-alarm fire.

The details of the case are horrific, if familiar. The murderer was picked up by one of the two men at the bar where he worked and came home for a meal with the couple. When sex appeared to be in the picture, he stabbed the two to death. John Aravosis at AmericaBlog comments:

Spain has legalized gay marriage. So you'd think "we've won!" We haven't. Even after you win your rights - long after - you're still not equal, you're still not free. Slavery was abolished after the civil war. The Civil Rights Act didn't happen until 100 years later. And now, 50 years hence, African-Americans still face prejudice and discrimination, even having elected a black president. It takes a long time to purge bigotry. I'm asking folks to do what they can to help publicize this case, and show support. There's a Facebook group I'd urge everyone to join. There are also protests this Saturday in Madrid, Barcelona, and around Spain. It's Spain's "twinkie defense." It's Spain's Matthew Shepard. It's Spain's shame.

Visit Andres Duque's Blabbeando for follow-ups to this story and for more translated LGBT news from the Spanish-speaking world.