Murder charge in Brooklyn gay killing

source: The Advocate

SUMMARY: Prosecutors say a Brooklyn teenager fatally stabbed 20-year-old Roberto Duncanson on a Crown Heights street because he was gay.

A Brooklyn teenager has been indicted on murder charges for fatally stabbing a man because he was gay, Kings County prosecutors said Thursday.

Roberto Duncanson, 20, also of Brooklyn, died soon after the May 12 attack.

Alleged killer Omar Willock, 17, faces 25 years to life if convicted.

Willock and Duncanson passed each other on St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, and Willock became enraged, accusing Duncanson of looking at him, prosecutors said in a written statement. Duncanson continued walking to a friend's house as Willock shouted anti-gay remarks. It's unclear how Willock knew Duncanson was gay, prosecutors told the New York Daily News.

On his way home, Duncanson again passed Willock, and Willock again berated him for his sexual orientation. Duncanson tried to walk away, but Willock came after him, first with his fists and then with a knife.

Paramedics found Duncanson on the sidewalk, stabbed four times; he died an hour later at Kings County Hospital. Memorial services were held May 20 at the New Haven Temple of Seventh-Day Adventists in Brooklyn.

Willock, charged with second-degree murder and second-degree murder as a hate crime, was being held without bail Friday. (Barbara Wilcox, The Advocate)