Roberto Duncanson
Roberto Duncanson (1987 - May 12, 2007) was an African American gay man from Brooklyn, New York. On May 12, 2007, he was stabbed to death by Omar Willock, who claimed Duncanson had flirted with him.
Background
Roberto Duncanson
Duncanson, 20, worked at CVS in Chelsea, New York, for 18 months. According to his mother, he had plans to go to Miami to celebrate his 21st birthday, and was planning to go back to school to become an x-ray technician.1)
On May 12, 2007, Duncanson and Omar Willock, 17, passed each other on St. Mark's Avenue in Crown Heights. Willock reportedly became enraged, yelled “What are you looking at, f—-r?”2) and started shouting anti-gay slurs at Duncanson.3) Willock accused Williams of looking at him, in a way he interpreted as flirting. It's unclear how Willock knew Duncanson was gay.4)
Duncanson walked away, and continued on his way to visit a cousin on Brooklyn Avenue. Willock allegedly followed Duncanson to his cousin's house, and waited for him to come out. When Duncanson emerged from the house, Willock continued following him.5)
The Murder
As Duncanson kept walking, Willock followed and continued to yell anti-gay epithets at Duncanson. Willock then started a fist fight with Duncanson.6) The fight ended when Willock took out a knife and stabbed Duncanson as he tried to walk away.7) Paramedics found Duncanson on the sidewalk.8) He had been stabbed in the back four times.9)
Duncanson's cousin, Jeimar Brown, witness the fight and would later testify in court about it. The man accused Duncan of looking at him. Duncanson responded by saying “Batty boy, you look like somebody wants to suck your dick.” Brown said the man, whom he did not know, followed them down the street, continuing to taunt Duncanson, until the two came to blows. Brown said that after the assailant struck him Duncanson struck back. It wasn't until Brown and two girls were able to pull the men apart that Brown saw the knife. At that point, the assailant fled. Duncanson, bleeding, collapsed onto the sidewalk, striking his head on a street sign. Brown cradled him as he called 911 on his cell phone.10)
The Aftermath
Duncanson was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he died an hour later.11)
On May 14th, a witness – Belinda Toon, 21, came forward and identified Willock as the killer. At this point, detectives learned that Willock had an identical twin brother, Omari Willock. Toon claimed to hvae known the twins for a year prior to Duncanson's murder.
Toon gave detective Thomas McKeirnan a first name and address for Willock. McKeirnan showed Toon a initial photo line-up that included Omar Willock but not Omari Willock. The witness identified the photo as Omari Willock. The detetive created a second photo line-up including Omar, but not Omari, and Toon identified Omar Willock as the killer.12)
Willock surrendered at Brooklyn's 17th precinct on May 17, accompanied by a lawyer. He never gave a statement to police and the knife used in the murder was never found. Toon picked Willock out of a line-up at the 17th precinct on May 17. Duncanson's cousin, Jeimar Brown, who witnessed the attack, viewed the line-up, but was unable to identify Willcok.13) Willock was charged with second degree murder and second degree murder as a hate crime.
Trial
On February 5, 2009, Judge Neil J. Fiertog ruled that the Brooklyn district attorney could use results from photo identification line-up in its case against Willock, denying the defense request to surpess the photo idenfication line-up.14)
Willock's murder trial began on March 11, 2009.15) Toon and Brown were witnesses for the prosecution. Toon identified Willock as the man who argued with Duncanson on the evening of May 12, 2007. Toon did not say that she saw Willock stab Duncanson. Brown testified as an eyewitness to the fight and the stabbing. Toon and Brown identified themselves on a videotape of the incident, though the fight took place off camera. 16)
On March 12, 2009, the judge granted the defense motion to toss the hate crime charge, leaving the jury to deliverate the second- and first-degree murder charge. That hate crime charge would have increased the minimum sentence if Willock is convicted. Instead, the minimum sentence is 15 to life, though the average times served is under 25 years. The jury received the case in on March 12, and began its deliberations.17)
Verdict and Sentencing
On March 19, 2009, jurors found Willock guilty of Duncan's murder. 18)
On July 6, 2009, Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Neil Firetog sentenced Willock to 23-years-to-life in prison. 19)
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