Friday, Aug 29, 2008
Feb 24, 2003 | One of four defendants in the October slaying of a transgender teen pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter Monday and agreed to testify against his friends.
Jaron Chase Nabors, 19, will get 11 years in prison in the slaying of Eddie "Gwen" Araujo under the agreement reached with prosecutors. He had faced a murder charge. His plea came during a preliminary hearing into whether Nabors and the other three should stand trial.
Jose Antonio Merel, 23, Michael William Magidson, 22, and Jason Michael Cazares, 22, still are charged with murder in the beating and strangulation of Araujo at Merel's house in suburban Newark.
About two weeks after the slaying, police say, Nabors led them to the body in a shallow grave in the Sierra foothills about 150 miles east of Newark.
Araujo was found buried -- wrists and ankles bound -- in the miniskirt she was last seen wearing while going by the name "Lida."
Prosecutors say the 17-year-old Araujo was killed after Nabors and his three friends found out for sure that the person they knew as "Lida" was biologically male.
Witnesses told police Araujo was beaten, dragged half-conscious into a garage and strangled with a rope, according to court documents.
"By entering a plea of guilty today you are in fact convicting yourself," Superior Court Judge Kenneth Mark Burr told Nabors. Appearing pale and composed, Nabors responded that he understood that.
The plea came on what would have been Araujo's 18th birthday.
According to the affidavit, another young woman at the party, Nicole Brown, had discovered Araujo's secret after taking her into a bathroom to determine her gender.
After Brown announced Araujo was biologically male, police said, Merel allegedly knocked Araujo to the floor and Nabors and Magidson joined in.
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