PGHIMC - Pittsburgh Independent Media Center

Benefit for Michael Hixson
by <>> Sunday, Sep. 28, 2003 at 5:47 PM

For Pittsburgh Indymedia On Thursday, October 2 at 10 p.m., Marsha Mellow will host an evening at the Real Luck Caf� celebrating the life of Michael Hixson, 38, who died after being stabbed in a suspected hate crime, by three men downtown September 12. All proceeds, according to D.J. John, a bartender at Lucky's, will go to offset funeral costs for the family.

Benefit for Michael Hixson


On Thursday, October 2 at 10 p.m., Marsha Mellow will host an evening at the Real Luck Caf� celebrating the life of Michael Hixson, 38, who died after being stabbed by three men downtown September 12. All proceeds, according to D.J. John, a bartender at Lucky's, will go to offset funeral costs for the family.

A statement from Pittsburgh Police Commander Maurita Bryant stated that Hixson had been observed sitting alone on a park bench before being jumped by three black male suspects. Detectives followed a trail of blood leading from the park at Mellon Square to the front of Sak's Fifth Avenue, where Hixson was found. No motive or witness information has been released.

Hixson's last stops were Images and the Liberty Avenue Saloon, both gay nightclubs. This has caused some speculation as to the nature of the murder, the 49th homicide in an extremely violent year. Hixson, described by one friend as "flamboyant," may have been the victim of a hate crime. Though state law includes sexual orientation and gender identity in its hate crimes legislation, the federal hate crime law, originally passed in 1969, does not.

Police are not corroborating the hate crime theory.

"I heard that on the news today and it was a surprise to me" was how one police officer responded when asked if the murder was being investigated as a hate crime.

The investigation has not yet turned up any leads. The police are not saying if they suspect a robbery, though the only item found on Hixson's body was a driver's license. The victim's mother, Lois Hixson, noted her son still wore all his jewelry when she identified him.

"They said they didn't know it was a robbery or if it was a hate crime," Lois says. "If you stab somebody a dozen times, that's a hate crime."

-- L.L. KIRCHNER

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