District of Columbia
Unexplained death of D.C. gay man caused by ‘acute’ alcohol intoxication
Partner of Washington Wizards chef urges police to continue investigation
A D.C. gay man whose body was found on a street in Southeast Washington around 3 a.m. on May 28 with his car, wallet, phone, and jewelry missing died of “acute ethanol intoxication,” according to a finding by the D.C. Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
A spokesperson for the Medical Examiner’s office, who released the cause and manner of death of Ernest Terrell Newkirk, 55, in response to a request from the Washington Blade, said “ethanol” is a technical term for alcohol as used in alcoholic beverages.
In a brief statement, the Medical Examiner’s office told the Blade other significant conditions that contributed to Newkirk’s death were “hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease” and “end stage renal disease of unknown etiology.” Etiology is a medical term used for the cause of a medical condition.
The statement says the manner of death was determined to be an “accident” rather than an intentional attempt by Newkirk to take his own life or by homicide.
The disclosure of the cause and manner of Newkirk’s death came more than three months after an initial autopsy found no signs of injury. The Medical Examiner’s office says it normally takes about 90 days for the completion of toxicology tests to determine a cause and manner of death due to a large backlog of cases.
Newkirk’s domestic partner of 21 years, Roger Turpin, said neither the Medical Examiner’s office nor D.C. police, who have been investigating the death, contacted him to inform him of the finding of the cause and manner of death. He said he learned about it for the first time from the Blade.
Newkirk worked as a chef for several years at D.C.’s Capital One Arena for the Washington Wizards basketball team and operated a home-based landscaping and lawn care business.
On Saturday evening, May 27, Newkirk drove from his and Turpin’s home at 19 Anacostia Rd., N.E. to attend a Black Pride dance party held at the Ugly Mug bar and lounge in the Barrack’s Row section of Capitol Hill, Turpin told the Blade.
At about 12:30 a.m. on May 28, Newkirk called his partner on his cell phone to say he was leaving the Ugly Mug Black Pride event and would soon be on his way home, Turpin said. But he never made it home and did not answer Turpin’s repeated calls to find out where he was.
Unknown to Turpin at the time, D.C. police received a call at around 3 a.m. on May 28 about an unconscious man lying in the street on the 1100 block of 46th Place, S.E. A police report says the call was made by a man who was driving in the area, saw the unconscious man in the street, and attempted to provide CPR to revive the man before police and an ambulance arrived.
Police later told Turpin the unconscious man had no identification on him and after being pronounced dead was listed as a “John Doe” at the city’s morgue. It was only after Turpin filed a missing person’s report one day later and provided police with a photo of Newkirk that police identified the deceased man found on the street as being Newkirk.
Turpin said that around the time his partner’s body was found, he discovered calls were made on Newkirk’s cell phone from phone records he had access to. He learned a short time later from his partner’s bank and credit card records that someone had made purchases with his debit card and traffic tickets were issued to someone driving Newkirk’s missing car before it was found a little over a mile away from where Newkirk’s body was found.
When the car was eventually returned to Turpin, Turpin said police appeared uninterested in obtaining two bags he found in the car that did not belong to him or Newkirk. He said a police detective would not respond to his question about whether police attempted to obtain fingerprints from the inside of the car.
A D.C. police spokesperson told the Blade in July that the case remained under investigation and police were waiting for the Medical Examiner’s findings of the cause and manner of death. The spokesperson said an autopsy found no signs of injury on the body, which prompted police to rule out homicide.
The spokesperson, Paris Lewbel, also said there were no initial signs of “foul play,” despite Turpin’s belief that one or more suspects may have stolen Newkirk’s car and belongings as part of a carjacking.
The NBC News online LGBTQ news site called Out News did a follow-up story on the Newkirk case after learning about it from the Blade’s story on July 20. The NBC Out story reports that D.C. police disputed Turpin’s claim that police were not adequately investigating the case.
The NBC Out News story also reports that a friend of Newkirk told NBC that he spoke with Newkirk for about a half hour outside the Ugly Mug around midnight during the Black Pride event and that Newkirk appeared to be intoxicated.
But the friend did not know what Newkirk did after he left the Ugly Mug, according to the NBC Out story. The story also reports that the Ugly Mug’s owner said police never asked him to view the bar’s security camera footage to see if Newkirk may have left the bar with someone else. At the time NBC asked about the security camera footage, the owner said the video recordings from the time Newkirk was at the bar over Memorial Day weekend had been erased.
D.C. police spokesperson Lewbel, who told the Blade in July the case was still under investigation, did not respond to a Blade inquiry this week asking how or whether the finding of the cause of Newkirk’s death would impact the police investigation.
Turpin this week said he very much wants police to continue the investigation to determine what happened to his partner, even if the cause of death was alcohol intoxication.
“How did his body get in the middle of the street?” Turpin asked. “And his car was gone, his wallet, his phone, everything was gone,” he said. “They really should continue the investigation. They really should.”
Turpin acknowledged that his partner began drinking on the same day at another event before he attended the Ugly Mug event. Regarding the Medical Examiner’s finding of “renal disease,” Turpin said Newkirk several years earlier had one of his kidneys replaced after being on dialysis prior to the kidney transplant surgery.
District of Columbia
D.C. police seek help in identifying suspect in anti-gay threats case
Victim threatened with assault, called ‘faggot’ as he left Capitals game
D.C. police are seeking help from the public in identifying a male suspect whose image was captured by a video surveillance camera after he allegedly shouted anti-gay slurs and threatened to assault a man at 6th and H Streets, N.W. on March 20 at about 9:54 p.m.
A police report says the victim told police the incident took place shortly after he exited the nearby Capital One Arena where he had attended a Washington Capitals hockey game.
The police report says the incident began when the victim saw the suspect yell a racist slur at a person behind the victim and started to berate a valet operator.
“Suspect 1 then turned his attention to Victim 1 and called him a ‘faggot’ among other homophobic slurs,” the report says. It says the victim then used his phone to record the suspect, prompting the suspect to walk away before returning and “snatching” the phone from the victim’s hand.
“Suspect 1 walked several feet as Victim 1 followed, requesting his phone back,” the report continues. “Suspect 1 stopped and turned to Victim 1 and while yelling other obscenities exclaimed ‘if you keep recording, I’m going to kick your ass.’” The report concludes by saying the victim was able to recover his phone.
It lists the incident as a “Threats To Do Bodily Harm” offense that is a suspected hate crime.
“Anyone who can identify this suspect or has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at 202-727-9099, or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411,” according to a separate police statement released April 23.
The statement says police currently offer an award of up to $1,000 to anyone who can provide information that leads to an arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for a crime committed in D.C.
D.C. police spokesperson Tom Lynch said the case has been under investigation since the incident occurred on March 20. He said the video image of the suspect, most likely obtained from a security camera from a nearby business, was released to the public as soon as it was obtained and processed through the investigation.
District of Columbia
Wanda Alston Foundation names new executive director
Longtime LGBTQ rights advocate Cesar Toledo to succeed June Crenshaw
The Wanda Alston Foundation, the D.C.-based organization that has provided housing and support services for homeless LGBTQ youth since its founding in 2008, announced it has appointed longtime LGBTQ rights advocate Cesar Toledo as its new executive director.
In an April 22 statement, the organization said that as part of a planned leadership transition launched in November 2024, Toledo will succeed June Crenshaw, who Alston Foundation officials and LGBTQ community activists say has led the organization with distinction in her role as executive director for the past nine years.
In a statement released last November, the foundation announced Crenshaw was stepping down from her role as executive director after deciding to “to step into her next chapter.”
“June’s leadership has been truly transformative,” said Alston Foundation Board Chair Darrin Glymph in the group’s April 22 statement. “We are immensely grateful for her dedication and equally excited for the energy and experience that Cesar brings to lead us into this next chapter,” Glymph said.
“A seasoned LGBTQ+ advocate, Cesar brings over a decade of experience leading national campaigns, shaping public policy, and building inclusive communities,” the statement released by the group says. “Most recently, he served as the National LGBTQ+ Engagement Director for the Harris for President Campaign and has built a career focused on advancing equality and equitable education,” it says.
Biographical information about Toledo shows that immediately prior to working for the Harris For President Campaign, he served since April 2023 as deputy director for Democrats for Education Reform DC (DFER DC), a political group that helps to elect candidates for public office committed to quality education for all students, including minorities, people of color and LGBTQ youth.
Before joining DFER DC, Toledo served as political director for the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, where he assisted in electing out LGBTQ candidates to all levels of public office across the U.S.
“I’m really excited about joining the Wanda Alston Foundation,” Toledo told the Washington Blade. “After a decade of working at the intersection of politics and policy and advancing political candidates and equitable education here in D.C., I wanted to shift my career to direct services to the most vulnerable folks in the LGBTQ+ family and our homeless youth,” he said.
Among other things, he said he would push for increasing the Alston Foundation’s visibility and mainlining its services for LGBTQ youth at a time when the national political climate has become less supportive.
A statement on its website says the Alston Foundation was founded in 2008 “in memory of Wanda Alston, a fierce LGBTQ+ activist, national advocate, and government official who was admired by District residents.”
The statement adds, “The foundation opened the first housing program in the nation’s capital in 2008 providing pre-independent transitional living and life-saving support services to LGBTQ+ youth.”
In a separate statement, the Alston Foundation announced it would hold a “thank you” celebration of appreciation for June Crenshaw from 6-8 p.m. on May 20 at Crush Dance Bar located at 2007 14th Street, N.W. in D.C.
“Let’s come together to celebrate her dedication and commitment for everything she has done for the LGBTQIA homeless youth population,” the statement says.
District of Columbia
New DC LGBTQ Center to celebrate grand opening
Permanent location in Shaw debuts with Saturday celebration
After more than 20 months of demolition, construction, and development, Washington finally has a brand new LGBTQ Center. On Saturday, April 26, the doors will officially open at the DC LGBTQ Center for the first time following the groundbreaking in June 2023.
The new DC LGBTQ Center, located one block from the Shaw Metro station, aims to educate, empower, uplift and celebrate Washington’s LGBTQ community. Spanning 6,671 square feet of intentionally designed space, the center will offer a wide range of resources for LGBTQ individuals in need – including mental health services, job readiness programs, cultural events and community support groups, all under one roof.
The space, located in The Adora building at 1828 Wiltberger St, N.W., has a food pantry, STD and HIV testing space, therapy room, boutique with a clothing closet, an ADA-accessible shower, a mailroom to help those without an address receive mail, and a large kitchen.
The new DC LGBTQ Center will also house office space for nine local LGBTQ organizations. Groups like SMYAL, which supports and uplifts LGBTQ youth, and the Wanda Alston Foundation, which provides transitional housing and support services for homeless or at-risk LGBTQ youth, are central to the center’s mission: to educate, empower, uplift, celebrate, elevate and connect Washington’s LGBTQ community. The center will also become the new home of the Capital Pride Alliance, the organization behind Capital Pride and this year’s WorldPride celebration.
The Reeves Center, the former home of the DC LGBTQ Center, is slated for redevelopment. Located at 14th and U streets, N.W., the building is expected to become a mixed-use hub featuring the NAACP’s national headquarters, a hotel, restaurant, comedy club, housing and more.
On Saturday, the new DC LGBTQ Center will celebrate its grand opening with a full day of events designed to showcase the space’s potential and mark its long-awaited return. The “Friends & Family Day” celebration begins with a brunch at 10 a.m., followed by an open house featuring tours, team introductions, and a look at how the center came to life. The day concludes with a “Honey, I’m Home” cocktail celebration at 5 p.m.
Some events are open to the public, while others, such as the brunch, require an RSVP. To RSVP, visit this link or email [email protected] with any questions.
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