Police in Nebraska, USA are investigating an attack on an out
lesbian woman in which three masked men broke into her house, tied
her up, carved anti-gay slurs into her skin, and set her house on
fire.
The attackers also vandalised the walls of the property, writing
'We found you dyke,' on the wall before setting it alight, which
caused about $200 worth of damage by the time the fire fighters
came to extinguish the flames, at 4am on 22 July.
The woman, whose name has not been released, managed to walk
naked and bleeding to the house of a neighbour who called the
police.
Speaking to
CNN, the neighbour, Linda Rappl, said that she was a good
friend of the 33-year-old victim.
She said: "I was in shock. She was naked, her hands were tied
with zip ties. All I could see was a cut across her forehead and
blood running down.
"Some of the blood that was on her - that had run down her legs
- was dried so I don't know how long it was before she got
away."
The victim, whose hands and feet were tied together with cable
ties, was taken to hospital where she was treated for injuries on
her stomach and arms. She is currently being sheltered in emergency
housing.
A candlelight vigil organised by a local LGBT group was held at
the Nebraska State Capitol on Sunday and attended by 500
people.
Although the police declined to say what was carved into the
woman's skin, a friend of the victim said the words included 'dyke'
and 'slut', leaving little doubt that the attack was a hate
crime.
Suggesting a motive
for the attack, Rappl said her neighbour had recently been
volunteering with local children.
"Apparently, though,
through that job someone let her know that she had no business
working with children because she was a lesbian," Rappl said. "She
is a wonderful, beautiful person. I couldn't ask for a better
neighbor."
