Man faces murder charge over death of Canadian gay activist

Source: CBC News

A man is facing a charge of second-degree murder after a prominent gay activist in Halifax was beaten to death early Tuesday morning outside a gay club on Gottingen Street.

Ryan Raymond Taavel was former chairman of Gay Pride week events and a well-known editor for Wayves magazine. He also worked for the Shambala Sun Foundation.

... Taavel and a friend had just left Menz Bar, a popular Halifax gay bar, when witnesses say they got into an argument and fight with a much larger man.

Two witnesses have told police the attacker used homophobic slurs during the beating and one eyewitness told CBC News that he repeatedly slammed Taavel's head into the street where the victim was found by police and later pronounced dead by paramedics.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/story/2012/04/17/ns-man-dead-assault-gottingen.html