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 Murder Suicide Rocks Palm Beach Gay Community
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: March 24, 2008 - 11:00 am ET
(West Palm Beach, Florida) The deaths of a
popular gay bar owner and his boyfriend have been determined to be a murder
suicide according to police in West Palm Beach.
Officers were dispatched to the condominium of
Michael Brown, the owner of H.G. Roosters, on Friday after he failed to show up
at the club for two days.
Inside the apartment they found Brown's beaten
and stabbed body. Nearby was that of Brant Hines hanging from a strap over a
bedroom door.
Police believe that Brown, 50, was killed late
Wednesday or early Thursday. Hines, 27, took his own life sometime Thursday.
The Palm Beach Post reports that a neighbor heard
loud crashes and shouting coming from the unit late Wednesday night. Another
neighbor, who had lost his key and had gone to Brown's unit to get into the
complex, said that Hines opened the door and had a black eye.
Other neighbors told the paper that they saw
Hines walking Brown's dogs later on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, after Brown had failed to
arrive at the bar, an employee called the apartment. Hines answered the phone
and said Brown was not available. It was at that point police were
notified.
Police said that Hines did not leave a suicide
note but appeared to have been on what was described as an Internet social
networking site to which he was a member. Investigators hope the last posting
made by Hines will provide some clues to motive.
Brown had run H.G. Roosters since the late
1980s. Customers described him as a loveable bear of a man who was heavily
involved in the gay community. He had at one point served as Grand Marshall of
the gay pride parade, ran regular fundraising events for LGBT charities and was
a volunteer with the Names
Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Saturday night members of the LGBT community
gathered at the bar for a candlelight vigil.
Brown's relationship with Hines is described as rocky.
Hines had a record for petty crimes but none were violent police said.
©365Gay.com 2008
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