Investigators: House may have been torched because owner was gay

http://www.365gay.com/news/investigators-house-may-have-been-torched-because-owner-was-gay/

(Newton, North Carolina) A fire that destroyed a home in Newton, North Carolina may have been started by someone targeting its owner because he is gay, county and state investigators say.

Melvin Whistlehunt was at work when his mother called to tell him that his home was on fire. When he arrived home firefighters were sifting through the wreckage.

Firefighters found homophobic and racist slurs spray painted on the back of the building.

The Catawba County Fire Marshal’s Office has called in the Sheriff’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation arson unit to help find the cause of the blaze the Observer-News-Enterprise of Newton reports.

Both Whistlehunt and his mother, who lives next door, say the graffiti had not been on the building when he left for work.

Whistlehunt said the has never experienced homophobia in the past in the area.