Local
3 gay men found not guilty in Wone case
Judge cites reasonable doubt; widow’s civil lawsuit up next
Katherine Wone, wife of slain attorney Robert Wone, has waited nearly four years for a criminal case stemming from her husband’s death to conclude. The trial is expected to end soon. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
D.C. Superior Court Judge Lynn Leibovitz found three gay men charged with obstructing justice in the murder of attorney Robert Wone not guilty of all counts against them Tuesday.
Leibovitz, who read her lengthy decision in the case aloud to a packed courtroom, said that while she felt there was significant evidence implicating the defendants Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward, there continued to exist a reasonable doubt on all charges against them.
“It is very probable that the government’s theory is correct, that even if the defendants did not participate in the murder, some or all of them knew enough about the circumstances of it to provide helpful information to law enforcement and have chosen to withhold that information for reasons of their own,” she said.
“Nevertheless, after lengthy analysis of the evidence, I conclude that the government has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the essential elements of obstruction of justice as to Mr. Price, Mr. Zaborsky or Mr. Ward,” she said.
She said prosecutors similarly failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the three defendants engaged in a conspiracy to obstruct justice or evidence tampering.
The decision, which took more than an hour for Leibovitz to recite, did not disclose the verdict until late in its reading.
Before announcing her verdict, Leibovitz led some observers to believe she was about to find the defendants guilty on at least some of the charges. With suspense building in the courtroom, she said the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Wone was not killed by an unknown intruder who entered the defendants’ house, where Wone was found stabbed to death in August 2006, as the defense has claimed.
“Despite the many suspicious and even damning circumstances, despite the implausibility of the intruder story, and despite the discordant and inappropriate demeanor and conduct of the defendants, I am constrained to conclude that the government has not eliminated, beyond a reasonable doubt, the real probability of what I have termed the ‘math problem’ in this case,” she said.
Leibovitz described the “math problem” as the government’s apparent inability to definitively prove which defendant committed which specific act of obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and evidence tampering — the three charges on which the men were indicted more than two years ago.
Wone was found stabbed to death in a guest bedroom in the three defendants’ townhouse on Swann Street, N.W., near Dupont Circle, on Aug. 2, 2006. The four-year drama surrounding the case has captured the interest of the local gay community and as well as many in the larger D.C. area, prompting a large contingent of news outlets to provide extensive coverage of the case.
Defense attorney David Schertler, who represented Ward, urged Leibovitz in his closing argument last week to find the defendants not guilty based on what he called the government’s lack of sufficient evidence, saying the men have been in a “living nightmare” for four years.
But the ordeal faced by Price, Zaborsky and Ward is not likely to end soon. Kathy Wone, Robert Wone’s widow, has filed a $20 million wrongful death civil suit against the men on behalf of her husband, and that case is expected to start working its way through the judicial system shortly.
Unlike the criminal case, the burden of proof for a civil wrongful death suit is less stringent, making Kathy Wone’s chances of winning greater than that in the criminal case, court observers said.
Looking toward the Wone family members sitting in the courtroom, including Kathy Wone, Leibovitz said Tuesday that her adherence to the strict standards of probable cause probably would be “cold comfort to those who loved Robert Wone and wish for some measure of peace or justice, and I am extremely sorry for this.”
“I believe, however, that the reasonable doubt standard is essential to maintaining our criminal justice system as the fair and just system we wish it to be,” Leibovitz said. “I cite the wisdom of English jurist William Blackstone that it is ‘better that 10 guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer.’”
Closing arguments in the case were heard last week. Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Kirschner, the trial’s lead prosecutor, noted at that time that Wone’s killer had yet to be identified because Price, Zaborsky and Ward “prevented the murder from being solved.”
He argued that the government’s case proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Wone was not killed by an unidentified intruder who entered the defendants’ house, as was claimed. Instead, Kirschner reiterated the government’s contention that the defendants know who killed Wone and engaged in a cover-up to protect that person.
Wone, a friend of the three men, was spending the night at their Dupont Circle area townhouse after working late at his nearby office.
Although he acknowledged that prosecutors could not prove who it was that killed Wone, Kirschner told Leibovitz that the totality of evidence “leaps out and screams” that the defense’s intruder theory is a “fabrication.”
All three defense attorneys fired back, saying that after five weeks of witness testimony, the government had failed to provide any evidence of a motive in the case and instead based its case on a long list of “suspicious” occurrences that don’t prove the defendants covered up a crime.
“We’ve been here five weeks and we’ve never seen any evidence of why these men would do this,” said Price’s attorney, Bernard Grimm, who noted the defendants had a warm and ongoing friendship with Wone and his wife.
“What the government has done is cobble together a patchwork of suspicious circumstances and make a fantastic leap to say this is a conspiracy to obstruct justice,” said David Schertler, Ward’s attorney. “None of these circumstances can be used to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In a statement to reporters outside the courthouse, Kirschner, said the Wone murder investigation remains open, prompting court observers to note that Price, Zaborsky and Ward could still be charged with murder, manslaughter or other homicide-related charges should more evidence surface in the case.
“We can only hope that further evidence continues to come to light that will allow us to move forward in the homicide investigation … to bring justice to the family of Robert Wone for whoever it was that killed Robert,” he said.
Kirschner added, “We respect and accept the judge’s verdict … It was thoughtful, it was well reasoned.”
Grimm told reporters Leibovitz said it best when she explained the importance of the government’s burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“That’s the system of justice that we live in, and that’s what it is,” he said. “Other countries would die to have this system of justice.”
Rehoboth Beach
SUNFESTIVAL takes center stage as Rehoboth Beach closes out summer
Labor Day Weekend bustling with events, including David Archuleta performance
Labor Day Weekend marks the unofficial end of summer in Rehoboth Beach, but there will be no shortage of LGBTQ events, with CAMP Rehoboth’s annual SUNFESTIVAL taking over town this weekend.
Thursday (9/3)
Get your Labor Day Weekend started early Thursday night with happy hour from 5-7 p.m. at Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, followed by Naughtee Bingo hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 8:30 p.m.
After bingo, the party continues with Dancing at Diego’s from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m.
Aqua Bar & Grill will also kick off its Labor Day Weekend festivities Thursday with a DJ spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Friday (9/4)
The weekend ramps up Friday night at Aqua, where DJ Matt Bailer will keep the dance floor moving from 9 p.m.-1 a.m.
Over at Diego’s, DJ Steve Sidewalk will then take over Diego’s for Freedom Friday from 9 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Saturday (9/5)
The main event of the weekend arrives Saturday with the opening night of CAMP Rehoboth’s SUNFESTIVAL.
Billed as the ultimate party to close out the summer, SUNFESTIVAL has become one of Rehoboth’s signature Labor Day Weekend events. The annual celebration sells out each year, with proceeds benefiting CAMP Rehoboth.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with refreshments available at the cash bar while attendees are invited to socialize and find their seats.
Saturday night will feature local singer Ashley Williams as the opening performer, followed by headliner David Archuleta. The event will also feature a live auction.
Back across town Saturday, Aqua will continue its Labor Day Weekend DJ lineup from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Diego’s will also have plenty happening, with ‘Splash Party’ hosted by Magnolia Applebottom at 5 p.m., followed by a Saturday Dance Party with Brett Oosterhaus from 9 p.m.- 1:30 a.m.
The Blue Moon hosts its popular Legends Show at 9 p.m. It’s an all-live singing show by the Blue Moon cast of celebrity impersonators.
Etienne Pilon has taken Rehoboth by storm this summer. Check out the talented singer/pianist at The Pines from 7-10 p.m.
Sunday (9/6)
Sunday’s SUNFESTIVAL event will shift the focus to the dance floor, with globally renowned DJs Robbie Leslie and James Anthony scheduled to perform. Doors open at 7 p.m., with dancing continuing until 1 a.m.
On Sunday, Aqua will throw its annual White Party, with DJs spinning from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Guests are encouraged to dress in white for the holiday weekend celebration.
Diego’s will host its Sunday High T-Dance with Pamala Stanley at 5 p.m. Later that evening, DJ Tannr will be spinning at 9 p.m.
John Flynn is on the piano from 6-8 p.m. at the Blue Moon.
Monday (9/7)
The final day of Labor Day Weekend brings one last chance to hit the dance floor before summer officially winds down.
Aqua will close out its five-day Labor Day Weekend celebration with DJ Biff from 3-7 p.m.
Maryland
Anne Arundel schools now need parent permission to call trans students by preferred names
Conservative groups challenged system’s policy
By JESSICA CALEFATI | Anne Arundel County Public Schools staff cannot use transgender students’ preferred names if their parents oppose it, according to an internal document reviewed by the Banner, a change that comes after conservative groups challenged the school system’s approach to gender identity.
Teachers union president Kristina Korona told members in an Aug. 20 email that the new guidance undermines district policy on acceptance and inclusivity and “will begin harming affected students immediately.”
Previously, the district didn’t require parental permission to use a high school student’s chosen name and pronouns corresponding to their gender identity, the internal document says. Now it does. The change comes as parents challenge the suburban school system’s gender identity policy and regulation in court and the Trump-Vance administration threatens the district’s funding.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
‘People don’t see me. They see a trend’
New popularity of all things Asian warps view of multiple cultures
As I was growing up, my parents often shared stories about how they were bullied when they were my age, just for being Asian. My mom is Cambodian and my dad is “Wasian,” Chinese and white. Students teased them for their looks, their homemade lunches, and treated their traditional holidays as jokes.
I once asked my mom when I was little if she could pack me dumpling leftovers for lunch. “Yes,” she said with a surprised look, adding, “I would have never wanted to bring dumplings to school when I was your age because I would always get bullied for them. I’m glad times have changed.”
At the time, I was confused. Whenever I brought a homemade Asian dish to school for lunch, I was happy to hear intriguing and curious questions from the other kids. It felt good to have my meal be popular and different from the Lunchables everyone else had.
Though times have changed, racism still continues. It just has a new face. Today, social media pretends to flatter our cultures in an insincere way trying to gain popularity just for clicks. Think anything from K-pop to Japan’s surge in international tourism. Even Starbucks has added drinks with the flavor of ube yam, native to the Philippines, onto its menu.
I feel that now when people see me, they don’t see me, they see a trend.
For years, Asian people have been portrayed as foreign or exotic. The new embrace of foods and fashion at first felt good. Asians have never been represented as much as they’ve deserved.
But this new popularity warps what non-Asians see. Instead of the blunt and direct racism my parents faced, everything now is a gray area, more discreetly hidden behind some TikTok video. It actually normalizes racism and stereotypes.
Whitewashing my culture
As a 15-year-old Asian American who lives in D.C., I’ve always been one of the few Asian kids in school; my high school today counts less than 2 percent of students as being of Asian descent. I remember always being called “that one Asian girl” or some slur a kid learned from their parents. Every time I search for something related to Asian culture, such as a recipe or maybe a holiday, it’s always the same thing: some white person whitewashing my culture.
Social media is the main culprit, of course. I realized this when I entered high school and got a phone and was introduced to the internet. That is when I realized how messed up the new stereotypes around Asians are.
One pattern I started to notice was people wanting to be Asian just because it was popular. It was hurtful, patronizing, and annoying. They made assumptions about our race and then only found us “cool” because we were trending. How can people go from hating us or finding us weird, to then only liking us because we’re popular?
There was a trend going around on TikTok called “race change to another” or RCTA. It is this trend of people manifesting certain physical traits to change their appearance in order to change races. According to journalist Emi Tran, writing then as an intern for NBC Digital, the trend started when a white woman wanted to be Japanese. The woman began posting TikTok videos of herself wishing for different features such as monolids. Tran wrote in that 2023 article that “the overwhelming majority of the RCTA community wants to be East Asian.”
People also look up to K-pop culture, idolizing the pop groups pulled together by big entertainment companies. Most people expect all Koreans to be K-pop fans. Korean friends are asked about K-pop all the time even though they are not into the South Korean music genre.
Although I am not South Korean — I am half Cambodian and Chinese — I still get asked, almost like I’m expected, “You’re really into this group, right?” or “Can you tell me how to pronounce this member’s name?”
I was asked even worse questions during COVID-19. Suddenly, discrimination and violence were increasing specifically toward Asians everywhere. Suddenly, almost everyone was blaming Chinese people for spreading and causing COVID-19.
I remember going to school for one of the last times before quarantine had started and hearing kids whisper, “Oh, she’s going to give us the Coronavirus.” President Donald Trump had publicly posted his opinions about the situation on social media, blaming China for the pandemic, even calling it the “Chinese Virus” or the “Wuhan Virus.” According to NPR, anti-Asian hate crimes in U.S. cities surged 149 percent that year.
The topic of Asians in the media has always been complicated. One moment people can hate us for being weird and different and the next we’re suddenly popular and cool for the same reasons.
I feel conflicted on whether I should feel happy that we’re being represented or angry that it’s all for the wrong reason and has the wrong effects.
Lily Brugman is a sophomore at Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, one of Youthcast Media Group’s journalism class partners. She worked with YMG volunteer and Professor Emerita in journalism at American University Amy Eisman on this piece.
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