More On The MS "Gay Panic" Murder

Friends of the accused killer of openly gay Mississippi mayoral candidate Marco McMillian are claiming that McMillian attempted to rape the suspect, who may be planning a "gay panic" defense.

The sisters say Reed told them everything. Just after midnight on February 26, their youngest sister received a panicked call from Reed. One sister says, "He called at 12:11am and he told her that the dude (McMillian) was trying to rape him. He was exposing himself to him, playing with himself, telling him to do things and then he'll take him home."

He told the girl he was on a back road and couldn't get away. A few minutes later a bruised, bloody and broken Reed showed up at their back porch. "He just looked like he had been through war..." one sister describes, "He was standing in the back, back here, telling God to forgive him. He didn't mean to do it, and he was saying that he just wanted to die."

She says when Reed couldn't get away from McMillian, he used the chain on his wallet to choke the 200 pound politician. "He was shaking real hard, he was crying real hard, he was circling, begging for somebody to talk to him." The sisters say Reed was inconsolable and, they believe, suicidal. "When he left out, he just drove out, sped up and hit a white truck head on."

McMillian's body was found burned and beaten and police believe he had been dragged. Earlier this week the FBI joined the investigation as Mississippi offers no hate crimes protections based on sexual orientation.  McMillian is thought to have been the first openly gay political candidate in state history.

MISSISSIPPI: Feds To Investigate Murder Of Mayoral Candidate Marco McMillian

The FBI announced yesterday that it will investigate the murder of openly gay small town mayoral candidate Marco McMillian, whose burned and beaten body was found in Mississippi last week. Local police have declined to characterize the murder as a hate crime and lawyers for the man charged in the case are reportedly considering a "gay panic" defense.

The agency "will assess evidence to determine whether federal prosecution is appropriate," Deborah Madden, an FBI public affairs specialist, said Wednesday. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and the National Black Justice Coalition, both separately urged the federal government Tuesday to seek potential hate crime charges in a case that has grabbed national attention. Mississippi has a hate-crime law that covers race, religion and gender but doesn't extend to sexual orientation. However, local and state agencies can seek assistance to pursue a federal hate crime under the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which does cover homosexuality. Or the FBI can come in to investigate at the request of an outside source, as in the McMillian case.

McMillian was thought to be the first openly gay political candidate in the history of Mississippi. (Via Towleroad)