On May 16, 2007, 20-year-old Sean Kennedy was leaving a nightclub where he had spent the evening with his friends. As he was leaving the club, he was confronted by a group of men in a vehicle. An altercation occurred between Sean and one of the men in the car, Stephen Moller, who exited the car, yelled a homophobic slur at Sean and then punched Sean in the face causing Sean to fall backwards and hit his head on the concrete curb. Stephen, along with his friends then fled the scene, leaving Sean to die.

Sources:

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Kennedy, Elke, “Remembering My Son 10 Years After a Hate Crime Took His Life”, Advocate, May 16, 2017, https://www.advocate.com/commentary/2017/5/16/remembering-my-son-10-years-after-hate-crime-took-his-life#toggle-gdpr, accessed June 9, 2025.

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