Araujo case: Retrial date set, man gets bail

Araujo case: Retrial date set, man gets bail
PlanetOut Network
Monday, August 2, 2004 / 05:23 PM

The three California men charged in the murder of transgender teen Gwen Araujo will be retried next May, and one of the defendants will be freed on $1 million bail.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Henry Sheppard announced the decisions during a court hearing on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

In June, the criminal case against Jason Cazares, Michael Magidson and Jose Merel ended in a mistrial, with the jury deadlocked on first-degree murder charges for all three men. The retrial date is set for May 9, 2005.

The judge granted bail to Cazares, who testified during the trial that he was not present in the house when Araujo was killed on Oct. 4, 2002, in Newark, Calif. He did admit to helping the other two men bury Araujo's body in a shallow grave nearly 150 miles away. A prosecution witness, however, said Cazares helped plan the killing.

The 17-year-old Araujo was beaten and strangled at a party after the defendants learned that she was biologically male. Magidson and Merel had previously been sexually intimate with her.

All three men have been charged with first-degree murder with hate crime enhancements. Magidson and Merel remain in detention without bail.

According to the San Jose Mercury News, Sylvia Guerrero, the victim's mother, left the courtroom in tears on Friday and declined to comment on the proceedings.

J. Tony Serra, the attorney for Cazares, said his client will be freed once the man's family can raise the bail money for his release.