Gwen Araujo is Murdered Transgender Teenager

Gwen Araujo was born Eddie Araujo, a transgender teenager who was murdered. Her story was told in a 2006 Lifetime movie called ‘A Girl Like Me.‘A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story’ is a 2006 biography made-for-tv movie directed by award-winning director Agnieszka Holland and first aired on Lifetime Television.

It’s a really tragic story that documents the real life of Gwen Araujo, who was born Eddie Araujo, Jr., a transgender teenager who was murdered by four men in Newark, California after it was discovered she had male genitalia. Scenes from the ‘A Girl Like Me’ movie depicting the murder trial are shown alternating with the story of Gwen’s life.

The four men who killed Gwen Araujo, two of whom she had been sexually intimate with, beat her for hours then strangled her, dumping her in a remote area in the mountains. Two of the defendants were convicted of second-degree murder, but not convicted on the requested hate crime enhancements. The other two defendants pleaded guilty or no contest to voluntary manslaughter. In at least one of the trials, a ‘trans panic defense’ - an extension of the gay panic defense - was employed.

The crime received widespread national and international attention and prompted questions as to whether transgender people were being represented fairly and accurately in both mass media and the criminal justice system. It was this case which became the impetus for law reform movements in several states.At Araujo’s mother’s request, a judge posthumously changed Araujo’s legal name from Eddie to Gwen on June 23, 2004.The movie ‘A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story’ stars JD Pardo as Eddie/Gwen, Mercedes Ruehl as her mother, and Avan Jogia as her brother, Danny.