Suspect Named In Murder Of MS Black Gay Man

Lawrence Reed, 22, has been charged with the murder of 33-year-old Marco McMillian, the openly gay black man whose body was found in a local river last week. Multiple media outlets have been reporting on the relationship between Reed and McMillian with the Clarion Ledger getting very specific:

Little is known about Reed, 22, except that he graduated from Broad Street High School in the nearby community of Shelby and had since moved into an apartment in Clarksdale. 

Friends of Reed told Memphis television station WPTY that the two recently had met at a Clarksdale bar and became close. Then, sometime either late Monday night or early Tuesday morning, McMillian made sexual advances on Reed, the friends said, adding that Reed is straight. 

The Clarion-Ledger couldn’t reach Reed’s friends, but it’s also the version of events investigators were told. After being hit on, Reed allegedly snapped, strangled McMillian, then drove McMillian’s SUV to the levee west of Clarksdale and tossed his body near the river. 

Friends of McMillian, however, say the two men were romantically involved and quarreled immediately before the slaying.

Hmmmmm, this really is not a good sign. It looks like the people defending Reed are thinking about pursuing a "gay panic" defense, which although it has been banned in California, probably plays reasonably well in front of a Mississippi jury.

Hat/tip to Rod 2.0