In life, 17-year-old Edward Araujo Jr. wanted to be known by the name which her friends and family agreed best suited the transgender teenager: Gwen.
In death, the wish has been granted.
A judge posthumously granted the name change 18 months after Araujo was beaten and strangled and less than two weeks after a mistrial was declared in the case against three men accused in the killing.
"This is something that all of us have been waiting too long for," Araujo's mother, Sylvia Guerrero said in a statement on Thursday announcing the name change. "It is one of my regrets that I didn't call my daughter Gwen more while she was alive. Having this order granted helps me to put that regret to rest."
Guerrero had filed for the name change in May. Alameda County Superior Court Commissioner Thomas Surh called the request "a novel situation" and said he needed time to decide.
This week, the family learned that the name change had been granted on June 23.
"It's amazing. We're incredibly happy," said Christopher Daley, an attorney who handled the case.
Three men had been on trial for Araujo's death, Michael Magidson, Jose Merel and Jason Cazares, all 24. Magidson and Merel had sex with Araujo, and prosecutors said the three men killed Araujo after discovering she was biologically male.
But the case ended in a mistrial June 22 after jurors said they were deadlocked.
Prosecutors said they will retry the case, but no date was set.
Araujo's identity had been a big part of the trial. One defense attorney saying the crime was committed in a passion provoked by sexual deception.
Araujo's family said the defense unfairly blamed the victim and was untrue; they said Araujo had presented her true self.
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was