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TUESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2001

An 18-year-old New Mexico man is now accused of first degree murder of gay Navajo teen, Fred C. Martinez Jr.

The district attorney in Montezuma County of Colorado filed the new charges against Shaun Murphy of Farmington late Friday, subsequently delaying a preliminary hearing. The hearing had been scheduled for Monday but will not occur on September 7.

New evidence has been found that Murphy allegedly robbed Martinez before he allegedly brutally killed him.

Martinez has received extreme support from local and national gay activist groups including the mother of Matthew Shepard, another gay teen who was killed in a violent crime.

Get the Story:
Charge added in Cortez slaying (The Denver Post 8/14)

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