Gay man takes his own life following horrific homophobic hammer attack
Mitchell Pope suffered severe head injuries following the attack.
Family members of a man who was subjected to a savage homophobic assault are calling for the attacker to be charged with murder following his victim’s suicide.
Mitchell Pope – who suffered severe head injuries – has taken his life following the attack 18 months ago.
The 33-year-old was attacked several times by a man – who called him a ‘fucking faggot’ – in the lobby of his Crown Heights apartment in Brooklyn, on October 13, 2014.
He suffered a severely fractured skull after the man repeatedly hit him over the head with the hammer – for no other reason than because he was gay.
Mr Pope’s mother said that although her son survived the brutal attack, he was never the same.
“All of a sudden he really, really started acting different,” Agnes Watson told the NY Post.
“He was becoming delusional and paranoid.”
Ms Watson said her son became obsessed with demons and convinced that he was “invincible”, possessing “godlike” healing powers.
Ms Watson believes that this behaviour led to Mr Pope’s suicide, after he jumped from the third-story window of his apartment in January.
The medical examiner has ruled out drugs – however they did confirm that his brain injury could have influenced his actions.
New York police arrested a suspect following the attack on Mr Pope, but he was released after providing a solid alibi.
An image of the attacker fleeing the scene was also released by authorities.
Investigators examined whether the attack was related to four other similar assaults and an attempted murder – but there was not enough evidence to link the cases.
“Whoever did this to my son back in October should be held responsible,” Ms Watson added.
“He absolutely contributed to my son’s death.”
Mr Pope’s family have asked for murder charges to be filed, but his mother says the authorities are not doing enough to get justice for her son.
PinkNews approached the NYPD for comment, however detectives declined the opportunity to make a statement.
