 |
|||||
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|
 |
GAY ALUM MURDERED In a stabbing murder early last Thursday morning, Calvin alumnus Thomas Otte was killed in his Hartford, Conn. condominium. Otte, a 56-year old homosexual Presbyterian pastor, was one of the key persons involved in the founding of Calvin GALA, an unofficial gay and lesbian association for Calvin alumni. He was also involved in As We Are, an association for Christian homosexuals. Otte had worked as a pastoral counselor and private therapist in Hartford for 25 years. He was active with Presbyterians for Gay and Lesbian Concerns and with “More Light” churches, a national movement among Presbyterian churches to welcome gays and lesbians. According to the Hartford Courant, Hartford’s largest newspaper, “During his years as a pastoral counselor, Mr. Otte reached out to a broad spectrum of people and had become a familiar face at public forums and formal gatherings, as well as in the trenches, counseling some of the city’s most troubled souls.” The Courant reported that police were called to the scene when a neighbour discovered Otte’s door ajar at 7:15 a.m. on Thursday, and peeked inside. After viewing the scene, one veteran police officer commented, “This is a bad one.” Otte was found with multiple stab wounds and the crime scene showed signs of a violent struggle, said the Courant. However, Hartland police said there was no indication that Otte was slain because he was gay. Hartford police arrested 27-year old Hartford resident Felix Pagan in conjunction with the Otte murder on Saturday. Otte and Pagan had met in April 1998, and had recently been partying and playing loud music in Otte’s condominium into the early hours of the morning, which was uncharacteristic behaviour for him, according to his neighbours. Pagan, who has previously been convicted on charges of robbery and larceny, was being held in lieu of $1 million bail on Monday. Jim Lucas, a homosexual pastor who recently had renewal of his license to preach denied by the Christian Reformed Church, said of Otte: “He was a man who was dedicated and passionate to the cause of justice in the world and justice with the Christian community. He was concerned about how his alma mater was treating gay students and how the CRC was treating its gay members.” Mike Van Denend, executive director of alumni and media relation, explained that he met Otte two years ago when a group of alumni requested to put an ad in the Spark about starting an officially santioned gay and lesbian association. This started a long controversy, because the request was denied. “The alumni association declined to allow them to [run the ad] based on what we perceived as the college’s stand on homosexuality,” said Van Denend. Van Denend described Otte as “a gay rights activist, and quite a caring and compassionate man who obviously did a lot for the Hartford people.” |
|||
 BACK TONEWS |
|||||
|
|
|||||
