NEW YORK CITY: Model Found Guilty Of Murdering His Wealthy Boyfriend

In January 2011 New York City's tabloids published daily grisly updates in the case of Portuguese model Renato Seabra, who stabbed to death and then castrated his wealthy and renowned fashion photographer boyfriend with a wine corkscrew in a midtown hotel. Seabra told the NYPD at the time that he had murdered Carlos Castro in order to free him of his "homosexual demons" and that he himself was "not gay anymore." On Friday the jury rejected Seabra's defense of Jeebus-crazed insanity and found him guilty of second-degree murder.

Duncan Osborne reports at Gay City News:

“This was a brutal and sadistic crime, where Renato Seabra bludgeoned, choked, and mutilated his victim before murdering him,” District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., said in a November 30 statement. “But the jury’s verdict now, finally, holds Seabra accountable. It is particularly tragic that Carlos Castro was not only betrayed by his spurned lover, but met a very painful and violent end far from his home.” Jurors were charged by Daniel P. FitzGerald, the judge in the case, on November 29, and they deliberated for roughly 90 minutes that day. They returned a verdict by roughly 3:45 pm the next day. The speed with which they reached a decision suggests they never seriously considered the defense claim that Seabra, 23, was insane at the time of the murder and therefore not legally responsible.

The defense had argued that Seabra believed he was acting as a "conduit for God." Seabra first came to national fame in Portugal after appearing on a male modeling reality show. The sentencing portion of his trial has not yet taken place.