West Virginia gay man being beaten to death ignored by mainstream media

A gay man being beaten to death in Milton, WV is being completely ignored by mainstream media.

Ricky Williams, 45, was at his new residence Saturday when sometime before 9:30 p.m. a man and two women forced their way into his apartment and beat him, Milton Police Chief Greg Mullins said.

At least two people, including maintenance man Michael Seager, came to Williams' defense, injuring two of the suspects before chasing them off, Seager said. Seager, whose grandmother owns the apartment building on Mason Street beside Milton Elementary, reported that a neighbor told him she heard the assailants yelling a derogatory term for homosexuals.

However, Mullins said the case was not being treated as a hate crime.

A Milton police officer and a Cabell County sheriff's deputy responded to a 911 call at 9:30 p.m. to help break up a fight at Williams' apartment, Mullins said.

Williams, he said, was bandaged by paramedics, but refused to go to the hospital. At about 11:23 p.m., another 911 call was made because Williams was in worse condition than originally thought.

Seager said after the melee was over, Williams said he was all right. But he couldn't remember what year it was.

"It became obvious he had head trauma," Seager said.

On Monday, Mullins was taking statements from the suspects, who he said were visibly intoxicated on Saturday night and unable to give one then. He also sought Williams but found out only then that he had been taken to St. Mary's Medical Center and had slipped into a coma.

On Thursday, Mullins said charges wouldn't be filed until he finishes interviews with witnesses and all those involved with breaking up the fight.

Still, until Williams died Wednesday, it was only looking like battery charges, Mullins said. Now, the three suspects could face homicide charges.

"We're not doing anything until we get all the pieces together," Mullins said.

Like Kentucky, West Virginia was once part of conservative Virginia, but split from them during the middle of the civil war in 1863.

This attack occurred more than 100 miles from Welch, WV (remember in 2006 the police chief blocked paramedics from performing CPR on a gay man because he falsely assumed the man was HIV positive and therefore a health risk).

Click here for a list of gay hate crimes in Kentucky.