District of Columbia
New appeal for help in solving 1987 D.C. gay murder case
U.S. Navy commander was fatally stabbed outside Chesapeake House gay bar

The family of a 43-year-old gay U.S. Navy commander who was stabbed to death shortly after midnight on Jan. 1, 1987, minutes after he left a D.C. gay bar in a yet unsolved case considered a hate crime, is appealing to the public for help in providing police with a tip that may lead to the identity of two male suspects.
D.C. police at the time of the murder said Commander Gregory Peirce, an Alexandria, Va., resident who served as a staff officer at the Pentagon, was approached by two men appearing to be in their early 20s as he and a man he was with left the Chesapeake House, a gay bar at 946 9th St., N.W. at about 12:15 a.m.
A Washington Blade story published on Jan. 9, 1987, reported that police sources familiar with the investigation said one of the male suspects stabbed Peirce in the chest and neck, then kicked him repeatedly while he lay unconscious at the site of the stabbing in a parking lot behind the Chesapeake House.
The second suspect chased the man who was with Peirce toward the entrance of the bar, slashing the back of the manโs coat with a knife as the man sought help from the Chesapeake House doorman, Tom Vaughn, police sources told the Blade.
A police spokesperson said Peirce was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later at George Washington University Hospital as a result of a severed neck artery, the Blade reported. The man he was with, who told police what he observed, was not injured.
Amanda Soderlund, Peirceโs niece, told the Blade she and her family remain hopeful that the two young men involved in the fatal stabbing 36 years ago could be brought to justice.
She said her beloved uncle, who did not openly identify as gay while serving in the Navy, was just a few months away from retiring and being honorably discharged from the Navy.
โMy uncle was an incredible man,โ Soderlund said in an Oct. 5 phone interview. โWe have a very large family,โ she said, and family members have long tried to find out exactly what happened and why when Gregory Peirce became D.C.โs first homicide victim of 1987.

Longtime D.C. police homicide Detective Danny Whalen, who is assigned to the homicide unitโs Cold Case Squad, told the Blade last week that the Peirce murder case is among the large number of old homicide cases that cannot be solved unless new information surfaces.
โYou know, we would love nothing more than to bring these people to justice,โ Whalen said of the two unidentified suspects in the Peirce murder. โThe detectives who worked the case at the time exhausted everything in their power,โ said Whalen. โAnd if they could have made an arrest, they would have.โ
Whalen noted that the two suspects, who witnesses said appeared to be in their 20s, would likely be in their late 50s or early 60s at this time, assuming they are still alive. Whalen and other law enforcement officials have said for investigators to make an arrest in an old case like this, one or more people who know something about the case and who may have known the two suspects need to come forward with information.
Soderlund, Peirceโs niece, said she has reached out to the Blade and may reach out to other news media outlets to draw attention to the case, with the hope that someone reading about it in the press might just come forward with a tip that could lead to an arrest.
โThe Metropolitan Police Department currently offers a reward of up to $25,000 to anyone that provides information which leads to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for each homicide committed in the District of Columbia,โ according to a D.C. police statement issued at the time police announce a new unsolved murder case.
The statement says anyone with information about a case should call police at 202-727-9099. It says anonymous information can be submitted to the departmentโs TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.
Although other news media outlets, including the Washington Post, initially reported that police said the motive for the attack against Peirce and his companion appeared to be a robbery gone bad, police sources and witnesses from the Chesapeake House told the Blade the incident appeared to be an anti-gay hate crime or gay bashing.
The man who was with Pierce told police the incident began when the two male suspects approached the two men as they left the Chesapeake House and one of them said, โWonder if they have any money,โ according to an account by the Washington Post.
But the man accompanying Peirce also told police the two attackers never specifically asked for or demanded money. Words were exchanged between the four men in the parking lot and a fight broke out, police sources said, which led to Peirce being stabbed.
At least two police sources said the man who stabbed Peirce had time to search for Pierceโs wallet while Pierce was lying unconscious in the parking lot, but the attacker did not do so.
Instead, the attacker began kicking Pierce repeatedly while he lay motionless and bleeding, one of the police sources told the Blade back in January 1987. โFor all practical purposes [Pierce] was dead when this guy was kicking him,โ the source said.
In its Jan. 9, 1987, story on the Peirce murder, the Blade reported that experts familiar with anti-gay violence, including police investigators, consider the action by one of the two suspects in the Peirce case who repeatedly kicked Peirce while he lay unconscious as a form of โover killโ often triggered by a deeply held hatred toward and fear of homosexuality.
Chesapeake House employee Michael Sellers told the Blade the week following the murder that a group of young males were yelling anti-gay names, such as โfaggotโ and โqueer,โ at several Chesapeake House patrons and another of the barโs employees when the patrons and employee stood outside the bar about an hour before Peirce was stabbed.
One of the employees and two of the patrons told the Blade the males who were shouting at them appeared to match the descriptions of the two men who attacked Peirce and the man with Peirce. But homicide detective Whalen told the Blade last week that there is no definitive evidence that the young man who stabbed Peirce was among the group that shouted anti-gay names prior to the stabbing.
The Chesapeake House, which opened sometime in the 1970s and featured nude male dancers, closed in 1992 shortly before its building was demolished to make way for a new high rise office building.
In reviewing the information he is aware of about the case Det. Whalen said that while it appears to be a hate crime, the exact motive of the murder has yet to be confirmed.
โItโs one of those things where it was a street attack,โ said Whalen. โTheir intentions were never stated,โ he said. โHowever, it was either a hate crime or a street robbery or a combination of both.โ
LGBTQ activists at the time said they believed it was a hate crime. And they expressed concern and anger that the news media at the time, other than the Blade, did not report that the stabbing incident took place minutes after Peirce and the man he was with left a gay bar.
In a Jan. 2, 1987, story, one day after the murder took place, the Washington Post reported that Navy officials told Peirceโs brother that Peirce and a group of friends had come to D.C. that night to attend the cityโs New Yearโs celebration at the Old Post Office building at 12th and Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., which is located about a half mile away from the Chesapeake House.
Other news media accounts left the impression that the murder may have been related to assaults that had taken place among the large crowds of people who turned out for past New Yearโs celebrations outside the Old Post Office building.
The Post article reported that police said the stabbing took place in the 900 block of H Street, N.W. and that Peirce and the man he was with had just left a bar that the article did not identify by name.
โThe truth was being held back,โ Chesapeake House employee Michael Sellers told the Blade.
Soderlund said she and other Peirce family members have speculated that officials with the Navy may have wanted to downplay or hide the fact that a Navy commander who worked at the Pentagon was gay and was attacked after leaving a gay bar.
At that time, under longstanding U.S. military policy, active-duty military members discovered to be gay, lesbian, or bisexual were almost always discharged from the service as potential security risks. The so called โDonโt Ask, Donโt Tellโ policy initiated by President Bill Clinton, which eased the anti-gay policy to a small degree, did not take effect until 1994.
Soderlund told the Blade she and her family members thought there was more to Peirceโs murder than a street robbery, but they had little information to go on until she contacted one of the two Washington Post reporters who wrote the Postโs initial story on the case. That reporter, John Ward Anderson, who has since retired, informed her about the Bladeโs possible coverage of the story and suggested she contact the Blade.
Anderson told the Blade that the Post was not aware of information by police sources that the murder was a possible hate crime at the time the Post published its initial story on the case. He said the Post would have mentioned the possible anti-gay angle to the case had it known about it.
When Soderlund contacted the Blade, the Blade sent her a copy of the Bladeโs Jan. 9, 1987, story, which Soderlund said provided information about the case that she and other family members were not aware of, including information that the murder was likely an anti-gay hate crime.
In yet another development in the ongoing saga of her uncleโs murder, Soderlund said she reached out to Det. Whalen, who gave her the name of the man who was with Peirce at the time of the murder and informed her that the man had died of natural causes in 1994 at the age of 58. In doing an online search, she found a May 1, 1997, Washington Post story about this man, Orrin W. Macleod, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and member of the U.S. Merchant Marines before becoming a ground crew employee at Washington National Airport.
โHe never reached out to our family,โ Soderlund said. โWe never heard from him,โ she said, adding that she has long assumed, like her uncle, Macleod was not out as gay and most likely did not want to speak out publicly about the Peirce murder.
But the Post article about him said he became a hero of sorts in Fairfax County shortly before he died of leukemia when he donated most of his life savings and inherited wealth of $1 million to the Fairfax County Public Library.
โThe money, at Macleodโs request, will be invested in books on tape, which he used near the end of his life when his vision was impaired,โ the Post article states.
Soderlund said itโs her understanding that Fairfax Public Library officials were unaware that the generous donation they received was from a gay man who survived a violent attack that took the life of her uncle.
Shortly after the murder, D.C. police spokesperson Quintin Peterson described one of the men involved in the Peirce murder as being Black, with dark-complected skin, about 5-feet-9 inches tall, slender, with a mustache and wearing dark glasses, a blue knit hat, a dark blue jacket, and dark pants.
Peterson described the second man involved in the murder as being Black with a medium complexion, about 5-feet-9 inches tall, with hair on his chin, and wearing a green coat, a light-colored knit hat, and dark pants.
Police sources said witnesses told police the two attackers calmly walked away from the scene of the crime along H Street, with their whereabouts unknown.
In keeping with longstanding D.C. police policy, a reward of up to $25,000 is offered to anyone providing information leading to an arrest and conviction of persons responsible for a homicide committed in D.C.
Anyone with information should contact police at 202-727-9099 or submit an anonymous tip to the departmentโs TEXT TIP LINE by sending a text message to 50411.

District of Columbia
$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC
Washington Commanders โproudโ to champion LGBTQ community

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the cityโs long shuttered RFK stadium.
With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project โ and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion โ as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.
Ayalaโs support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the cityโs influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.
The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.
โThe Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,โ the team states on its website. โThrough the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.โ
In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.
โEach year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,โ Ayala said. โWe canโt wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.โ
He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayorโs office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.
Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this yearโs WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.
โThis new stadium will be more than just a field โ it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,โ he said in his statement.
At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.
In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as โaffordableโ for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.
โAs we focus on the growth of our economy, weโre not only bringing our team home, but weโre also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,โ Bowser said in a statement
Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they donโt believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development.
So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.
Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Councilโs only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports.
District of Columbia
Welcome home: DC LGBTQ Center opens its doors to healing and hope
The 6,671 square foot DC LGBTQ Center will offer a wide range of resources for LGBTQ individuals in need โ including mental health services, job readiness programs, cultural events, and community support groups, all under one roof.

On a sunny spring day in Washingtonโs Shaw neighborhood, the once empty Holzbeierlein Bakery warehouse now showcases energy, pride, and the sounds of chosen family coming closer together. After years in a less-than-perfect space on 14th Street, the DC LGBTQ community finally has a new home at the DC LGBTQ Centerโand Executive Director Kimberley Bush says itโs more than a building. Itโs a promise.
That promise, Bush explained to the Washington Blade on April 26โthe day of the new LGBTQ Centerโs openingโmay change depending on who is being uplifted by the DC Center, but at its core remains the same goal: a thriving LGBTQ community in the nationโs capital. The commitment to the DC LGBTQ community is able to grow more connected and stronger, she explained, as more resources, space, and funding become available for the DC Center.
โThis is a glorious home,โ Bush said, beaming as groups of community members walked in under the giant inflatable rainbow at the Centerโs doors. โItโs our new home. Today was a whole day of welcome home. This space has been an amazing endeavor for a long time, one that weโve always known weโve needed. This is space that we need for our LGBT siblings in needโand itโs amazing when your intentions match your efforts.โ
The DC Center has long worked to โeducate, empower, uplift, celebrate, elevate, and connectโ the LGBTQ community from its former location at the Reeves Center. But now, in its new space at 1828 Wiltberger St., N.W., these efforts are more visible, accessible, and impactful than ever before.
โThis space is a model that is new, that we are creating,โ Bush said as groups of DC Center supporters chatted with Etta Jamesโs โAt Lastโ filling the hallways. โThere is, I believe, no other LGBTQ+ community center in the country that not only has its own life and supportive services in its building, but is also co-housed with other organizations. A lot of community centers try and do it all, but thatโs not what we wanted. We wanted to be able to bring everybody together under one roof, to be able to have that whole life supportive services center like one-stop shopping. We didnโt want to take over anything anyone else did. We donโt want to take away the dollars those organizations have to do what they do for the community. We want us all to be together. So thatโs what we are. Weโve been able to now expand into almost 7,000 square feet of space.โ

The new DC Center features a variety of functional spaces designed to meet the diverse needs of the LGBTQ community. It includes office space for up to nine additional partner organizations, creating a hub for collaboration and support. Local and integral LGBTQ organizations like SMYAL, Team DC, and HIPS are some of the groups taking advantage of the space.
โPeople can be spread out,โ Bush said about the opportunity for these LGBTQ-specific organizations to have a dedicated office in the Center. โWe are on a grander scale, so we have a grander number of individuals that we can positively and effectively take care of. We [as members of the DC LGBTQ Center] canโt provide everything someone needs, but we can be an outpost for other organizations. Because weโve expanded, we are able to expand the love, kindness, and support we can give our siblings.โ
Additional support, Bush explained, is made possible by the intentional design of the new DC Center. Specialized rooms meet critical needsโfrom an HIV and STI testing room to therapy spaces and a boutique offering professional attire for job interviews. While the DC Center may not provide every service directly, it offers a shared space where partner organizations can step in and support the communityโall under one roof.
โOften people are not able to go here, here, and here, to get what those gaps in life are creating,โ she said. โTo bridge them in one space just gives that person the opportunity to have less on their heart and their mind in regards to what they need to take care of themselves.โ
In addition to being able to provide a space for instrumental elements of protecting the safety and well-being of the DC LGBTQ community, the Center also has a food pantry, a boutique with a clothing closet, an ADA-accessible shower, a mailroom to assist those without a permanent address, and a spacious kitchen.
This, she explained, is why this space is so monumental to providing the DC LGBTQ community the resources they need in a succinct and approachable way.

โBy bridging those gaps and having as much as we can here means youโre in one space to get your needs met,โ she added. โFrom sexual health needs, in terms of testing, counseling, and what have you, to mental and behavioral health needs. You can get food, you can get clothing, you can shower. You can store some of your things here. That is such an ease off of your mind to where now you can breathe.โ
After stepping into the Centerโs director role in 2022, Bush said that she often sees her โsiblingsโ within the community make a better life for themselves starting by walking through the front doors. Sometimes the following steps take more time and resources than for others, but regardless of what it takes, Bush emphasized the goal is to alleviate some stress and make tomorrow an approachable reality.
โI have the amazing opportunity to interact with our community members, our siblings, on a regular basis,โ she said. โOften I see them when they first walk in our door. Sometimes they walk in unhappy, sometimes devastated, or they walk in not in a good space. When they come in and invite us in to hear their stories, when they want to share whatโs going on with them so we can learn how to best care, love, and support them, itโs incredible. We make a POA, a plan of action, outlining how to take care of them and what thatโs going to take.โ
Walking through the Center, it is hard to not notice the smiles coming from everyoneโs facesโfrom volunteers, board members, community members, and those seeking assistance. The DC Center, with its rainbow murals and shining floors, has become a beacon of hope for many LGBTQ Washingtonian residents in need. For some, Bush explained, that can be as simple as having a space for solace in a city that seems to have no shortage of stressors.
โThe space is made for anyone whoโs in need, and even if youโre not,โ she said. โThis is a place for you to come and be peaceful. A place for you to come and have a cup of tea, not to pay a thing, or have to talk to anybody. You can just sit here and have a cup of tea.โ
The more she spoke about the space, it became clear that providing a space for LGBTQ people to be is just as important as providing spaces for the services to take place. The DC LGBTQ Center invites people to not only find what they need to make themselves better in a literal sense but also allows them to simply exist. It is rare for a city to provide this kind of refuge from the constant motion that life demands. And that can be life-changing, she says.
โI will say, โHow are you today? How are you feeling today?โ โHow are youโ and โhow are you feelingโ are two different things, but I do want to know how youโre feeling. If you donโt answer me, thatโs good. You know? Thatโs perfect,โ Bush said. โThis space is built for everyone, especially for trans and non-binary folk, and for our brown and Black folk. Itโs a space for those who just need a space to be.โ
In a world that often erases or overlooks LGBTQ people, especially trans, non-binary, Black, and brown community members, the simple act of being seen and cared for can be revolutionary. The DC Center aims to be a place for LGBTQ people to be themselvesโnot to force them to prove anything or lead them to speak, but to truly be themselves. That quiet affirmation of โallowing to beโ can plant the seed to a better, more authentic life.

โOne thing that I love to hear, and it makes me feel so good, because they say it in a way thatโs just like you and I would say it, or anyone would say it, but sometimes they may not have thought they would say it. They would say, โSee you tomorrow. See you later.โ This is a person who may not have had tomorrow in their mind. Where you and I say that all the time, but for a lot of our people, our siblings, who come to us, that may not be a thing for them. But when they come in our doors, receive the care and the love and the support and kindness, but then they walk out and they say, โSee you tomorrow,โ and we do see them tomorrow! I can tell you that this response not only drives me to do this work, because this is good work and Iโm very fortunate and privileged to be here, but itโs hearing that out of someoneโs mouth. Thatโs it. Thatโs all I need.โ
District of Columbia
Ruby Corado sentencing postponed for third time
Attorneys say former Casa Ruby director has โsignificant medical issuesโ

A federal judge on April 8 approved a request by defense attorneys to postpone the sentencing of Ruby Corado, the founder and executive director of the now closed D.C. LGBTQ community services organization Casa Ruby on a charge of wire fraud, from April 29 to July 29.
Court records show that Judge Trevor N. McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia approved a motion filed by Coradoโs two defense attorneys on that same day calling for the sentencing postponement on grounds of health issues.
โMs. Corado has significant medical issues,โ the April 8 motion states. โShe has an important medical appointment related to one of her diagnoses scheduled in June 2025 and will need time to recover from that appointment,โ it says.
The motion gives no further details on Coloradoโs medical issues. A.J. Kramer, director of the D.C. Office of the Federal Public Defender, whose attorneys are representing Corado, said the office has a policy of never disclosing specific medical related information regarding its clients.
Court records show that prosecutors with the Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. did not object to the defense motion seeking the third sentencing postponement.
The records show that an earlier postponement of the sentencing, from March 28 to April 29, was initiated by the judge due to a scheduling conflict. The first postponement from Jan. 10 to March 28 came at the request of Coradoโs attorneys, court records show.
Corado pleaded guilty on July 17, 2024, to a single charge of wire fraud as part of a plea bargain deal offered by prosecutors. The charge to which she pleaded guilty says she allegedly diverted at least $150,000 โin taxpayer backed emergency COVID relief funds to private offshore bank accounts for her personal use,โ according to a statement released by the U.S. Attorneyโs office.
Prosecutors have said funds that Corado allegedly diverted for her own use were intended to be used by Casa Ruby in support of its various programs, including housing services for homeless LGBTQ youth and support for LGBTQ immigrants.
The U.S. Attorneyโs statement also notes that in 2022, when โfinancial irregularities at Casa Ruby became public,โ Corado sold her home in Prince Georgeโs County, Md. and โfled to El Salvador.โ It was at that time that Casa Ruby ceased its operations.
Court records show that FBI agents arrested Corado on March 5, 2024, at a hotel in Laurel, Md., shortly after she returned to the U.S. At the request of her attorney and against the wishes of prosecutors, another judge at that time agreed to release Corado into custody of her niece in Rockville, Md., under a home detention order.
The release order came seven days after Corado had been held in jail at the time of her arrest by the FBI.
Under the federal wire fraud law Corado could be sentenced to a possible maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorneyโs statement. However, court observers have said that due to Coradoโs decision to waive her right to a trial and plead guilty, prosecutors will likely ask the judge to hand down a lesser sentence than the maximum sentence.
The statement by prosecutors points out that Coradoโs decision to plead guilty to the one charge came after she had been charged in a criminal complaint filed on March 1, 2024, with bank fraud, wire fraud, laundering of monetary instruments, monetary transactions in criminally derived proceeds, and failure to file a report of foreign bank accounts.
All those charges except for the wire fraud charge were dropped at the time of her guilty plea.
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