Sailor Accused Of Murdering Gay Seaman August Provost Commits Suicide In Jail

Breaking news from ABC:

The U.S. Navy says a sailor charged with the murder of a seaman has committed suicide in the brig at Camp Pendleton. A Navy news release says Petty Officer Jonathan Campos, of Lancaster, was found unresponsive in his cell Friday afternoon. He was rushed to the base hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Officials say the apparent cause of death was asphyxiation. The release says Campos had last been checked early Friday afternoon. Campos was charged with murder and other offenses in the June 30 shooting death of August Provost. Provost, a 29-year-old seaman from Houston, was shot several times in the sentry station at Camp Pendleton.

Although family members initially claimed that Provost was murdered by somebody harassing him about his sexual orientation, the Navy said his killing was unrelated to his personal life.

San Diego: Fellow Sailor Charged In Murder Of August Provost

The Navy has charged a fellow sailor in the killing of August Provost, the gay soldier found murdered last month in a guard shack at the entrance of USMC base Camp Pendleton near San Diego.

Navy Petty Officer Jonathan Campos, a 32-year-old gas system technician, has been charged with murder, arson, unlawful entry, unlawful possession of a firearm and a host of other charges in connection with last month's fatal shooting of a seaman at Camp Pendelton, Navy officials annnounced Thursday. Campos, of Lancaster, is being held at the brig at Miramar Marine Corps Air Station and is cooperating with investigators, who reiterated that there is no indication the killing of August Provost III on June 30 was a hate crime. Provost was gay. "An investigative hearing will be held in the coming weeks," the Navy said. "During the hearing, a military investigating officer will hear evidence to evaluate the charges and evidence." Officials repeatedly have rejected assertions that Provost was killed because he was gay, as some members of his family have suggested. Provost's mother, Melanie Collins, has said her 29-year-old son was shot five times.

Provost reportedly complained to friends and family that he was being harassed for being gay, but may have been afraid to come forward to his superiors due to DADT.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee Calls For Inquiry Into Death Of Gay Sailor August Provost

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) is calling for a deeper investigation into the death of Houston-born gay sailor August Provost, who was found murdered in his Camp Pendleton guard shack outside of San Diego two weeks ago.

“I am requesting a full investigation into the murder,” Jackson Lee said Sunday. “This death appears bizarre, and more facts need to be uncovered.” Navy officials said earlier this month that they had linked another sailor to the crime through physical evidence and his own statement. The sailor was taken into custody and was cooperating with the investigation, said Capt. Matt Brown, a spokesman for Navy Region Southwest in San Diego, Calif.

“There is no information that suggests this is a hate crime, but we will address any possible motivation as part of the investigation as we continue to thoroughly examine the many leads and facts in this case,” Brown said earlier this month. Jackson Lee stood with Provost's parents on Sunday to call for a deeper investigation. “I'm asking for a system-wide investigation, to see whether these acts are being tolerated in our military,” Jackson Lee said. “I'm appalled and outraged at the lack of facts that have been given to this family.” Provost's mother, Melanie Provost, said Sunday the military originally told her simply that her son had been found unconscious in the guard shack and later died. “The only way I found out my son had been shot and burned was on TV,” she said.

The Congresswoman and the sailor's family believe that DADT made have had a hand in Provost's reluctance to come forward about the anti-gay harassment he'd been suffering at the hands of other soldiers.

Tonight In San Diego: Vigil For Murdered Gay Sailor August Provost

A candlelight vigil for murdered gay sailor August Provost will be held tonight at 7pm at 1300 N. Coast Hwy at Monterey Drive in Oceanside, CA near the Camp Pendleton base entrance. Facebook event page here.

Family Of Murdered Gay Sailor Blames Military For Ignoring His Complaints

Although the government is claiming that murdered San Diego sailor August Provost was not the victim of a hate crime, his family feels differently.

Provost III, had complained a year before about being harassed for being gay. Roy said she advised Provost to report and document the incidents, but she said the military did little to help. “He went to the Navy to serve and protect,” she said in an interview with Beaumont’s KFDM News, “he didn’t get protected at all.” Roy told The Associated Press that the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy discouraged her nephew from asking for help. “That phrase is just stupid because it tells them they have no one to speak to,” she said. The 29-year-old Houston native was found dead Tuesday at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego.

Roy said the family was told that Provost was shot three times, had his hands and feet bound, his mouth gagged, and body burned. The family plans to hold funeral services July 10 in Houston. Democratic Rep. Bob Filner of San Diego said Thursday he wants a Defense Department investigation into the death, after leaders of the city’s gay community asked him to intervene. Investigators have called the sailor’s death a random act unrelated to the his sexuality and have taken a “person of interest” into custody. No charges have been filed.

Another victim of DADT, but this one is dead.

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.