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Updates in Betts, Wone murder cases
Family of slain gay principal pushes hate crime prosecution
Lawyers representing the family of murdered D.C. middle school principal Brian Betts, who was gay, met with officials at the U.S. Department of Justice on Dec. 7 to reiterate an earlier request that the department investigate whether the murder should be declared a federal hate crime.
Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred, who has represented celebrities in high-profile cases, said after the meeting that she and co-counsel Rene Sandler asked members of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to determine whether at least one of the four teenagers charged in the murder violated the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.
Allred noted that defendant Alante Saunders, 19, pled guilty to first-degree felony murder for shooting Betts to death and has been sentenced to 40 years in jail. But she said his use of a gay sex chat line to meet Betts and target him for a robbery could be grounds for initiating a hate crime prosecution.
“It is clear to us that a person who participates in a male-to-male sex-chat line would be perceived as gay and may be thought to be an especially vulnerable target for a criminal,” Allred said.
Sandler said the Justice Department officials promised to review the case and make a determination in the near future on whether to open a hate crime investigation in the Betts murder case. She said the meeting lasted more than an hour.
Betts was found murdered in his Silver Spring, Md., house in April. In addition to Saunders, two other youths implicated in Betts’ murder pled guilty to lesser charges. A fourth youth is scheduled to stand trial but is said to be considering accepting a plea bargain offer from prosecutors.
The chief prosecutor in the case has said the evidence doesn’t support a hate crime prosecution.
Gag order request denied in Wone case
The judge presiding over a $20 million wrongful death lawsuit filed against three gay men for the 2006 murder of local attorney Robert Wone denied the men’s request that all lawyers in the case be barred from speaking to the media.
Lawyers representing Joseph Price, Victor Zaborsky and Dylan Ward argued that remarks made to the press by at least one of the attorneys representing Kathy Wone, wife of the slain attorney, were highly prejudicial and would make it difficult to obtain an impartial jury in the case.
They were referring to a comment by attorney Patrick Regan outside the courtroom earlier this year related to the defendants’ stated plan to invoke the Fifth Amendment to allow them to refuse to answer nearly all questions at their trial next spring.
Regan told members of the media that, “defendants don’t assert their fifth amendment rights if they are not guilty of something.”
The defendants are expected to argue that answering questions in the civil trial or during pre-trial depositions could incriminate them in a possible future criminal prosecution.
The three were found not guilty on charges of conspiracy and evidence tampering in connection with the Wone murder in a criminal trial earlier this year. No one has been charged with the murder.
In addition to denying the defendants’ gag order request, Judge Brook Hedge also denied a defense motion to dismiss the entire case.
Hedge denied a third motion by the defense requesting that the defendants’ lawyers rather than the defendants themselves be allowed to recite the Fifth Amendment as grounds for not answering a question each time the plaintiff’s lawyers fire questions at the defendants.
Under this ruling, Price, Zaborsky and Ward must state for themselves—while on the witness stand or in pre-trial depositions—that they are invoking their Fifth Amendment right not to answer a question.
Robert Wone was found stabbed to death in a guest bedroom in the Dupont Circle area home of the three men in August 2006. The men have said an unidentified intruder killed Wone after entering the house through a rear door. Police and prosecutors disputed this claim, saying evidence showed that no one entered the home at the time of the murder and that the three men know who the murderer is but are covering up for that person.
A D.C. Superior Court judge, who presided over the non-jury criminal trial, ruled that the government did not provide sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the three men committed the offenses with which they were charged—obstruction of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice and evidence tampering.
Legal experts have said civil cases require a lower threshold of proof, making it possible that the three gay defendants could be found responsible for Robert Wone’s death from a civil standpoint. A jury must decide the amount of monetary damages the men would be responsible for if found guilty.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
Baltimore
Ron Singer, owner of popular Mount Vernon gay bar Leon’s, dies
66-year-old’s funeral to take place Friday
By CAYLA HARRIS | Ron Singer, the owner of Baltimore’s popular gay bar Leon’s Backroom, died Tuesday, the venue announced in a social media post. He was 66.
“For more than 20 years, Ron made Leon’s a place so many people were proud to call home,” the post reads. “He will be deeply missed.”
The Mount Vernon bar, typically open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, is still open Thursday, but doors will close at midnight so staff can attend his funeral Friday morning. Services are scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. at Sol Levinson’s Chapel.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
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