Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1996)
M l .'-.t > .1 ju st o u t ▼ m arch 15. 1 0 0 6 ▼ 15 Good from bad Court proceedings surrounding the murder o f two Medford lesbians continue as a new community center takes shape , by Inga Sorensen vs lesbians— information Acremant says he soon sur n estimated $27,000 has been raised so mised and later confirmed when he asked Ellis point far to establish a gay and lesbian com blank whether the two were lesbians— “made it munity center in the Medford area. easier [to kill them].” He also told a reporter he The center will likely be named after didn’t “care for lesbians.” Roxanne Ellis, 54, and Michelle Abdill, “Bisexual women don’t bother me a bit,” he said 42, a Medford lesbian couple who were murdered in during a jailhouse interview. “I couldn’t help but early December. think that she’s [Ellis] 54 years old and had been “I think contributing to the memorial fund has been an important and constructive way for people to express their grief over Roxanne’s and Michelle’s deaths,” says Gerald Garland, an active member of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbi ans and Gays o f the Rogue Valley. “It has been a terribly painful experience not only for this community, but for people across the country. In fact, w e’ve gotten many donations from people who don’t even live in Oregon.” Ellis’ and Abdill’s bound bodies were found Dec. 7 in the back of Ellis’ truck in an apartment complex parking lot in Medford, a relatively conservative en clave of 55,000 near the California bor der. The couple, who lived in that South ern Oregon city for five years and owned a local property management company, had been killed execution-style: two bul lets each to the head. They were outspo ken opponents of local and statewide anti-gay initiatives in Oregon. Their mur ders gained international attention. Robert James Acremant, 27, was ar rested Dec. 13 and was arraigned on two counts o f aggravated murder— a capital crime punishable by the death penalty. Michelle Abdill (left) and Roxanne Ellis Though he confessed to the murders dating a woman for 12 years; isn’t that sick? T hat’s shortly after police took him into custody and said someone’s grandma [Ellis has a daughter and grand he wanted to die by lethal injection, Acremant daughter] for G od’s sake. Could you imagine my pleaded not guilty to the murder charges during grandma a lesbian with another woman? I couldn’t legal proceedings in late January. believe that. It crossed my mind a couple o f times— “God only knows what he and his lawyer are lesbo grandma, what a thing, hunh?” doing,” says Lt. Tom Lavine, who heads up the Upon his arrest, Acremant maintained he se Medford Police Department’s criminal investiga lected the women as targets to rob their property tions unit. “Here you have this guy saying ‘Yes, I management business. In a later interview, how did it,’ and now he’s saying ‘No, I didn’t do it.’ I ever, Acremant said he hadn’t yet really revealed guess while it’s sometimes frustrating, it’s not un the motive, because he wanted to sell his story to the expected.” highest bidder, preferably a television program. Acremant has reportedly said anti-gay bias Ellis and Abdill were widely viewed as the ideal played no role in the killings. He did, however, tell couple: down-to-earth, family-oriented, active in a reporter that the fact that Abdill and Ellis were A THE BEST RATES THE BEST SERVICE THE QUICKEST RESPONSE GUARANTEED PACIFIC GUARANTEE MORTGAGE 246-LOAN(5626) E xp erien ce... Integrity...R eliability their church, and respected businesswomen. “I’ve done everything to make sure there were no blunders during our investigation,” says Lavine, adding his entire division was initially assigned to the case. With “mounds of evidence” now collected, he says, just two detectives remain on the case. “We have reams and reams of paper on this. W e’ve reinterviewed [Acremant’s] father and have done lots of background work. If there was any question regarding needing a warrant or anything like that, we took the cautious route,” says Lavine, whose department has received high marks for its handling of the case. “This is just too important to us.” No trial date has been scheduled yet, and Acrem ant’s public defender, Ralph Monson of To ledo, Ore., who says he has handled an estimated 25 capital crime cases, says it’s not unusual for “every one to move more cautiously in death penalty cases.” “From the courts to law enforcement to prosecu tors to defense attorneys, everybody moves more slowly in death penalty cases because the stakes are so high and mistakes cannot be afforded,” says Monson, who has been practicing law since 1968 and has “exclusively handled murder cases” since 1989. With respect to Acremant, some have suggested that Monson has more than his client’s interests at stake. He has been described as an outspoken oppo nent o f the death penalty who is seeking to pursue a personal agenda: to abolish Oregon’s death penalty. “ I only have my client’s well-being in mind,” says Monson, adding that he has filed motions to repeal Oregon’s death penalty in each of his capital punishment cases. “ I’m not disturbed that people are saying what they are, because that’s the way this process is.” Monson says he has, in fact, filed motions in the Acremant case to repeal the state’s capital punish ment law, which was approved by voter initiative in 1984. With that action, voters— by a decisive 3-1 ratio— reinstated Oregon’s death penalty. Monson is arguing, in part, that the state law is unconstitutional because it violates federal constitu tional guarantees that all states exercise a republican form of government— where elected representa tives pass laws— rather than a democratic form— where citizens, for example, can pass legislation via initiative and referendum. Not surprisingly, Monson declined to reveal his trial strategy, but Lavine expects the attor ney will claim his client was “temporarily insane” when he committed the murders. “That’s what I’m hearing the most. There’s no basis for that, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s the route they took,” says Lavine. “I’d like to see him try and convince a jury of 12 o f that.” Jim Willeford, a gay real estate agent living in Southern Oregon, says Ellis’ and Abdill’s deaths have prompted people throughout the region to work proactively towani creating a safe and tolerant envi ronment for all people. The PFLAG fund, for instance, has pulled in $20,000 to support the creation o f a community center, and the Lambda Community Center Association has raised $7,000 for the effort. A recent unity rally in Rogue River, meanwhile, attracted 200 people of vary ing backgrounds who came together to denounce hate crimes. “People are still extremely emotion ally connected to Roxanne and Michelle,” says Willeford, who knew both women. “There was a lesbian who went to the Rogue River rally who said she did so because she felt that’s what Michelle and Roxanne would have done. [Ellis and Abdill] were so loved and admired, and they con tinue to be role models for our community.” Willeford says two upcoming public meetings are designed to give people an opportunity to share their ideas about the community center. A meeting will be held April 2 at the Ashland Unitarian Church; the second gathering will be held at the United Methodist Church in Medford. Both meetings begin at 7 pm, and the public is encouraged to attend. Those who would like to contribute to the PFLAG memorial fund should send a check to PFLAG, PO Box 13, Ashland, OR 97520. O ld F orestry C ommons )uiet oasis in th e heart of N W 775 N W U pshur #D 169,000 ► cozy fireplace for winter ad a big sundeck for summer- lis 3 bedroom, 2 bath ando is perfect all year round, he location is perfect blocks from both 3rd Ave. and Forest Pk. all me for a private showing. i „ Whdermere Cronin A Capian Realty Group, Inc. ttfY Q .99^111 e; /ttfVLQ7n_QftAl