Gay Sailor Murdered On Marine Base

The body of an openly gay sailor was found yesterday in a guard shack outside of Camp Pendleton, a USMC base just outside San Diego. The case may be investigated as a hate crime.

The body of Seaman August Provost of Houston, Texas, was discovered about 3:30 a.m. on the western edge of the base, said Doug Sayers, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest. An autopsy was completed yesterday, but authorities were waiting for results of toxicology tests to determine a cause of death. A “person of interest” was being held in the Navy brig at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. No charges have been filed. The death has local gay activists calling for a formal investigation into whether Provost was slain because of his sexual orientation. “We're definitely monitoring this and trust and hope the military will investigate this in the professional way it should,” said Nicole Murray-Ramirez, chairman of San Diego's Human Rights Commission. Murray-Rameriz also has contacted Reps. Susan Davis and Bob Filner, asking that they make official inquiries to the military concerning an investigation. The Navy would not comment on whether Provost's orientation had anything to do with the death.

The victim's boyfriend said that Provost had been out to trusted friends in the Navy.