Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 15, 1995)
ju st o u t ▼ d o co m b o r I S , 1 9 9 5 ▼ 19 Continued from page 17 “They were both personal friends of mine. says Garland. “The grief, fear and anger we felt.” I his is basically w hat Medford police have a testament to the community’s strength in the face They were close with my wife and my daughter,” Prior to Acremant’s arrest fear was widespread. said: Ellis was scheduled to show a man a of adversity. says the Rev. Michael Powell, the church’s pastor. That was understandable. After all, there was no duplex on Dec. 4 at 11 am. Ellis’ daughter, Willeford, who many years ago was "taken on a The 48-year-old Powell has known the two for known reason why anyone would want to kill Lorri Ellis, tried to page her mother several times two-hour, 110-mph joy ride and repeatedly beaten” three years. either Ellis or Abdill. And Medford— actually all but did not get a call until late that afternoon. by two young men after leaving a Texas gay bar, “They were a vital part of our church family,” of Jackson County, with the exception of artsy Roxanne Ellis said she was going to go shopping. says: “We will also persevere.” he says. “They shared many significant moments Ashland— is known as a very conservative area. But an hour later, she called Abdill to say that she "This is our worst nightmare as sexual minori here. [Two years ago] they were in charge of the Though Oregonians overall rejected the last state was at the duplex and her car battery was dead. ties—to be killed because of who we are,” says lighting of the Christ candle on Christmas Eve. wide anti-gay initiative, the measure won a major Abdill left to give her a jump-start. Allanya Guenther, executive director of the Port They did it as a couple. ity in Jackson County, where the vote was 34,467 When Lorri Ellis went by the duplex that night land-based Phoenix Rising Foundation, which spe “Michelle, who was a very animated person, to 30,065. Abdill and Ellis were very outspoken in search of the two, she didn’t find either. But she cializes in counseling services for sexual minorities. was terrified, like she didn’t know if lightening against the measure. did find Abdill’s car— undisturbed and with the “Even if we didn’t know these women, we can was going to strike,” he laughs. “That meant a great “Am I afraid? Yes, a little,” Garland told us. woman’s purse and credit cards inside. identify with them. We know that this could easily deal to her. And two months ago she served sacra “Will I stop doing what I’m doing? Absolutely The family called the police, and law enforce be us.” ment with me. She held the bread and the wine. not.” ment officials began looking for the women, the In Portland, hundreds braved torrential down That may have made some people nervous, and Anna Holmes, who spoke with us before a man Ellis had met at the duplex, and Ellis’ silver pours and slick roads to attend a service at the First they could have shied away from her and taken the suspect had been arrested, agreed: “Some people’s Toyota pickup truck. Congregational Church on Dec. 10. Most of these bread and wine from me—but they didn’t.” reaction may be to go back into the closet, but it The pickup was found three days later on Dec. people did not know Ellis or Abdill personally, but He adds: “They were a beautiful couple, and makes me want to stand up on my rooftop and yell, 7, miles away in a Medford apartment complex needed to come together to remember the couple they really complimented each other— Michelle ‘I’m a lesbian. Don’t you dare hurt me!’ ” parking lot, with the bound bodies of the women and take a collective stand against bigotry and was extroverted, while Roxanne was much more quiet and very dignified, Michelle was short, and Roxanne was tall. They were perfect together.” Cherie Garland, president of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays of the Rogue Valley, spoke with Abdill the night before she disappeared. According to Garland, Abdill was shar ing news that she had just received from a lay leader at the Methodist church in Medford. “The lay leader informed Michelle that the congregation had voted 100 percent to consider the possibility of becoming a reconciling church,” she says. Reconciling congregations are United Methodist churches that publicly welcome all persons, regardless of sexual orienta tion, to participate fully in the life of their communities. "She called me at about 10:30 pm. She usually doesn’t call that late, but she was so excited,” says the 65-year-old Garland. “ I talked with Michelle every day. [Abdill was the editor of a PFLAG newsletter.] I considered them to be my daughters.” We talked with Garland the morning after it was discovered the couple had been murdered. “I’m sitting here this momingdrinking the last bit of coffee that came from fresh beans they gave me. They knew how much I enjoyed fresh beans,” she told us. “I wanted to save it and have it with them.... We were all supposed to get together tonight to have pizza and decorate the tree.” Abdill and Ellis were also set to meet up early next year with Garland’s lesbian daughter and her partner in Palm Springs for the annual Dinah Shore Golf Tourna Memorialsfor Ellis and Abdill were held in many Oregon towns, among them Medford, Ashland, Corvallis, Rose burg and Portland. Pictured above (and on the cover) ment. is the Portland gathering, held Sunday, Dec. 10. “They were so dynamic. If something inside. An autopsy determined they were both violence. She too admitted that she was worried that had to be done, they would do it,” says Garland. killed by two shots each to the head at close range. Hands clasped, the hundreds pledged in part: being very public could have placed her and her “Roxie came over one day and helped my husband They were not tortured or sexually assaulted. “From this day forward, you can count on me. family at risk. “Catherine is so precious to m e....” put up a 6-foot privacy fence. That’s the way they Police initially said they were exploring the she says, her voice drifting off. “You know,” she Asking for guidance and strength from all that is were, and I loved them very, very much.” possibility that Ellis and Abdill were victims of a says a moment later. “I always knew this move sacred, 1 promise to work for equal rights, justice hate crime, though they maintained they had no ment would have its martyrs. I just didn’t think it and respect for all and to live with courage and love. he night the couple’s bodies were discov evidence to support that contention. Lorri Ellis, 1 claim you as a neighbor and friend. I will not would be people I know.” ered also happened to be the evening of a forsake you.” A candlelight vigil was held immedi meanwhile, has said from the beginning she be Even walking down to the mailbox became an scheduled PFLAG meeting at the Ashland ately afterward. lieved this was a sexual-orientation-related hate edgier venture. “Catherine told me to take our church. crime. Doberman, O’ Malley, with me. I did,” says Holmes, Back in Ashland, meanwhile, the Rev. Michael Not surprisingly, the news of the murders trans Acremant was arrested six days after the bodies who helped organize a gathering of 300 lesbians a Powell says: "We just had our first Sunday service formed the assembly into an emotionally charged were discovered. few days after the killings were discovered. without Roxanne or Michelle. They always sat in gathering. It was a place to cry and express fear and the same place. The event was held in a safe and discreet “During one of the [community meetings], a outrage. The media were kept out. rabbi from a synagogue in Ashland told the story of “We were wondering and watching to see if location and was designed to give the women a Several dozen people gathered in the Method anyone would sit in their seats— I mean, everyone two Jewish girls who were murdered in Medford chance to express their feelings. ist church basement, which featured the typical knew that’s where they sat," he continues. "During “They came from Northern California, South several years ago,” says Jim Willeford. “At that hodgepodge of discarded, mismatched couches. the service, two beautiful elderly women filled that time, the Jewish community was considen ng plans ern Oregon, all over,” says Holmes, a mental “I brought candles and a large photograph that health professional who is a member of an urgent to build a synagogue here. When the murders space.... It seemed like the perfect thing." I have of Roxanne and Michelle,” says Garland. occurred, there was so much grief and horror, and response team. “We sat there in the candlelight. There was some PFLAG of the Rogue Valley is seeking dona turns to the community came together—much like we are Other community gatherings were also held thing very womblike about it.” memorialize Abdill and Ellis. Checks may be made doing over this—and asked whether they should during the days immediately following the discov The meeting included grief counselors and out to Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians keep going.” ery of the bodies. faith leadership representing many denominations. and Gays, PO Box 13, Ashland, OR 97520. Today, says Willeford, the synagogue stands— “We needed a safe space to express ourselves,” PHOTO BY UNOA T T