SAN JUAN - Murder charges were filed yesterday in the slaying of a gay teenager whose decapitated, partially burned body was found last week. US authorities said they were still considering whether to make it a hate crime case.
Gay activists expressed disappointment that the suspect wasn’t immediately charged with a hate crime, saying authorities in Puerto Rico have never invoked a law covering crimes based on sexual orientation.
The dismembered body of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado. a 19-year-old college student, was discovered Friday along a road in the town of Cayey. Lopez was widely known as a volunteer for organizations advocating HIV prevention and gay rights, and activists are planning vigils for him in San Juan, New York, and Chicago.
