Man takes own life after falling victim to barbaric homophobic attack
By Ben Kelly
The family of Mitcheal Pope, a young artist who was attacked in New York in 2014, have told for the first time of how he took his own life months after the incident.
Pope was 33 years-old when he was attacked in Brooklyn in October 2014 by a homeless man wielding a hammer. The attacker called Pope a “fucking faggot” and left him with serious head wounds. The police identified this as an anti-gay hate crime.
“He was rushed to the hospital, and by the grace of God he was all right,” Pope’s aunt Petra told the New York Post. Pope had treatment for a skull fracture and was released from hospital within days, but his mother explained that soon after, she noted a marked change in his behaviour.
“Right after the incident, everything appeared to be normal,” Agnes Watson told the newspaper. “All of a sudden he really, really started acting different. He was becoming delusional and paranoid.”
His mother, who is in the police force, said she recognised classic signs of mental illness.
His aunt added, “At the last dinner we had together all we spoke about was how he had healing powers and that he could heal people. He thought he was godlike and invincible.”
Pope was found dead on 17 January 2015 outside his apartment building, after apparently leaping from his third story window.
One suspect was arrested following the attack in 2014, but was released on his alibi. Pope’s mother feels the police have let the family down, by not bringing the perpetrator to justice.
“Whoever did this to my son back in October should be held responsible,” she said. “He absolutely contributed to my son’s death. The police are not doing what they need to do. This guy needs to be held accountable.”
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