By Allie Martin and Jody Brown
November 25, 2002

(AgapePress) - An attorney with the American Family Association Center for Law & Policy says a recent murder case in Chicago may be a prime case for a "hate crimes" prosecution. He calls it a case of Matthew Shephard in reverse.

Police say that earlier this month, 19-year-old Nicholas Gutierrez brutally murdered 51-year-old Mary Stachowicz after she tried to persuade him to leave the homosexual lifestyle. According to the Chicago Tribune, after first trying to cover up his involvement in the woman's disappearance, Gutierrez confessed to her murder. He has been charged with first-degree murder.

Steve Crampton is chief counsel with the Center for Law & Policy. He says it is more than likely that Chicago prosecutors have grounds for a hate crimes prosecution.

"This has all the markings of a brutal murder of a 51-year-old woman who was doing nothing more than sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and trying to help this young man," Crampton says.

According to family and friends, it would not have been out of character for Stachowicz, a staunch Catholic, to see homosexuality as a lifestyle problem.

Crampton wonders why the murder has not received the publicity garnered when Matthew Shephard, a homosexual, was murdered several years ago in Wyoming. He says he is disturbed by the way it was reported by the Chicago newspaper.

"The Chicago Tribune did all it could to cover the fact this apparent murderer is homosexual," he says, "and that the reason that he brutally murdered this woman is simply because of her religious views and her courage in sharing the truth with him."

The Tribune was not alone in taking that tack. In its initial report about the slaying, the Chicago Sun Times made no mention of Gutierrez' sexual orientation, quoting a police officer who described the motive as "an argument that just escalated" after Stachowicz talked to the young man about his "general lifestyle" and "lack of direction in life."

Crampton says his firm will be watching "with keen interest" to see if any hate crimes are charged in the case.

Peter LaBarbera of the Culture and Family Institute says the murder was blatantly a hate crime. "It's going to be hard for people to say this is not an anti-Christian hate crime committed by a homosexual activist," he says. "But I fully expect the media to not pay a lot of attention to this case."

Today LaBarbara blasted the media for its blackout of the story. "If a gay man had been murdered for trying to convince someone to be gay, it would be a national news story and be deemed a hate crime," he says. "But when a gay man murders a woman who tried to convince him to change, the media spike the story.

"If Matthew Shepard's murder deserved national media attention, then why not Mary Stachowicz's?" LaBarbera asks.

Police say Gutierrez confessed to punching, kicking, and stabbing Stachowicz until he was tired. Then he placed a plastic garbage bag over her head and strangled her. Gutierrez is being held on a $3 million bond. Prosecutors say they may seek the death penalty.

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