Defense Claims Rage Was the Motivation in the Murder of Angie Zapata

Allen Andrade will testify that he was so angered when he discovered that Angie Zapata was physically a man that he flew into an uncontrollable rage, killing Zapata, according to The Greeley Tribune, which reports that the question in Andrade’s first-degree murder/hate crime trial isn’t whether Andrade killed Zapata, but how. Attorney Annette Kundelius told jurors yesterday that pictures on the Internet of 18-year-old Zapata (pictured) dressed as a woman were “very provocative” and Andrade “had been deceived,” reports The Denver Post. “You will hear in his own words he never knew he had that kind of rage,” Kundelius said. Prosecutor Brandi Nieto told jurors that Andrade knew about Zapata’s gender, according to 7News, meaning the crime wasn’t motivated by rage. Phone calls Andrade made to his girlfriend–telling her “gay things need to die”–could also be used in the trial, writes The Colorado Independent. Both the Tribune and Justice for Angie are using Twitter to cover the trial in real time.