Two Navajo men were killed in a lot near the intersection of 60th and Central NW in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Image from Google Maps
Hundreds of people gathered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Saturday to remember two men from the Navajo Nation who were brutally murdered on July 19. Allison Gorman, 44, and Kee Thompson, 46, were killed as they slept in a lot on the city's west side. Family members visited the scene of the crime as part of their emotional stay in Albuquerque. “We feel that we needed to come out here. We needed to see where all of this had happened,” Allison Gorman’s older sister, Alberta Gorman, told KRQE-TV. Gorman's family is calling on authorities to treat the murders at a hate crime. Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly has asked the FBI to determine whether hate or bias charges are warranted. Alez Rios, 18, Nathaniel Carrillo, 16, and Gilbert Tafoya, 15, face open charges of murder, tampering with evidence, three counts aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and robbery. Authorities said the teens beat Gorman and Thompson so badly that their bodies were unrecognizable. Other Navajo tribal members and other homeless people in Albuquerque have said the teens were known to attack people who lived on the streets. In an interview with police, Tafoya admitted attacking more than 50 homeless people, The Albuquerqueu Journal reported. Native Americans make up about 4.6 percent of the Albuquerque's population and the city is close to several reservations, including a Navajo community that's detached from the main reservation. Homeless Native Americans tend to remain on the streets for longer periods and tend to be hospitalized and attacked more often, according to a city report. Overall, some 13 percent of the Native population in Albuquerque struggles with homelessness, the report said. Get the Story:
Service honors two slain Navajo (The Albuquerque Journal 8/3)
Families of murder victims meet at crime scene (KRQE 8/3)
Study looks at Native Americans (The Albuquerque Journal 8/2)
Report: 13 percent of Native Americans in Albuquerque chronically homeless (KOAT 8/1)
Warrants reveal details in beating deaths of homeless men (The Albuquerque Journal 7/31)
Video, warrants released in murders of homeless men (KRQE 7/31)
Violent Attacks on Homeless in Albuquerque Expose City’s Ills (The New York Times 7/24) An Opinion:
Justin St. Germain: Goodbye Albuquerque, Land of Violence (The New York Times 8/3)
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