Breaking news: mutineer Mark, who has done an outstanding job of keeping the SM community apprised of the aftermath (or lack of) of Satender Singh’s vicious, senseless murder, points us to The Sacramento Bee, for news we have all been waiting for, about this hate crime:
A month after the death of a Fijian man on a river beach, Sacramento County Sheriff’s detectives have identified the man who allegedly threw the lethal punch and then fled the country, officials confirmed Tuesday.
Sheriff’s spokesman Tim Curran said that 29-year-old Andrey Vusik of West Sacramento is the key suspect in the July 1 assault on Satender Singh at Lake Natoma — an act of violence many of Singh’s friends and supporters say was fueled by homophobia and hate.
Singh was salaciously enjoying himself, by hanging out with his friends, hugging them, dancing around…you know, very gay activities. He should have known better than to hug people. Or dance.
Vusik was identified as a suspect from witness statements, according to Curran. Sheriff’s officials would not specify what country he fled to and said they do not know his precise whereabouts.
“We believe he’s out of the country and we’re working with the FBI to locate him,” Curran said.
Well, at least there’s this:
Vusik’s relatives here are cooperating with homicide detectives, Curran said.
A warrant for Vusik’s arrest on suspicion of manslaughter was issued July 27. It remained unclear Tuesday when or whether Vusik would return to California to face charges.
For those of us who wondered about whether it would be considered a hate crime:
Curran also said investigators have uncovered information — including statements made before Singh was punched — that could support a hate crime enhancement should the District Attorney’s Office decide to file that count.
Wait, there’s more:
Detectives have also questioned a second suspect connected to the assault: Aleksander Shevchenko, 21, also of West Sacramento. According to authorities, Shevchenko was also involved in the altercation. He was arrested late Monday on suspicion of intimidation, also a hate crime.
Satender died almost exactly a month ago, after being punched and then striking his head on the base of a picnic table so hard, he damaged his brain stem. The group which attacked Satender had been harassing him and his friends all day, for their ethnicity and their perceived sexual orientation. For shame.
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UPDATE #2:
As those of you who have been participating in the comment thread below already know, The Sacramento Bee has another, more explosive article about this outrageous hate crime (Thanks, Amita):
About what the suspect would be charged with:
Vusik is charged with involuntary manslaughter rather than murder because the evidence does not show any intent to kill Singh, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement released Tuesday.
Singh’s family reacts:
But Tuesday’s action brought at least one family closer to a resolution.
“We are relieved that he will have justice,” said Singh’s uncle Camie Bhuie, “and we hope they can bring back the other culprit soon.”…
Singh’s friends and supporters have said the assault was fueled by homophobia and hate, coming after a string of racial slurs and anti-gay jibes allegedly made by a Russian-speaking group at the state park.
About the accused (who was identified in my original post, but I don’t mind naming shame again):
Homicide investigators say Vusik threw the lethal punch.
The West Sacramento man, whose wife and children remain in the area, is still at large in Russia, where he is being sought on a charge of involuntary manslaughter and committing a hate crime, said Sgt. Connie Merkins of the sheriff’s homicide bureau.
Here’s the best, and by best, I mean worst part of the article– he invokes “self-defense”:
In an interview with The Bee, Vusik’s wife, Tatyana, insisted he is innocent and acted in self-defense — not out of hate. She characterized Singh’s death as an accident..
The other suspect in the case, Shevchenko, surrendered voluntarily at his home Monday, according to Merkins. He is charged with intimidation and interfering with a victim’s rights, which is also a hate crime.
Wait- how many years would this hate-fueled criminal serve?
If convicted, Vusik could face a maximum of eight years in prison, while Shevchenko faces a maximum of three years. Shevchenko, who remained at the main jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, could not be reached Tuesday.
In the weeks since Singh’s death, Tatyana Vusik said she has struggled with the serious accusations that have clouded her family and the larger Slavic community. The crime, she said through a Russian translator, has become exaggerated in political circles. She said gay activists are trying to make an example of her husband, who she says is “a good man.“
This is Vusik’s version of what happened that day:
That day at Lake Natoma, Tatyana Vusik said she and her family were relaxing and enjoying the view…
It seemed like a pleasant afternoon, Tatyana Vusik said, until a neighboring party — which included Singh — grew raucous. She said the revelers were drinking alcohol, swearing loudly and dancing provocatively.
The mother said she then saw Singh leap onto a table, swishing his shirt between his legs. Others around him smashed bottles. She said she saw two men kissing.
That’s obviously worth killing someone over. I love that they chose to use the word, “swishing”. And am I the only one who finds it difficult to believe that they were breaking bottles? If you’re going to impugn a murder victim, at least come up with a better lie.
As several of you have pointed out, the following sentence is the most outrageous, hypocritical and disturbing.
“We’re a Christian family,” Tatyana Vusik said.
She said she asked her husband to tell Singh’s group to calm down, that there were children present.
Blame the victim! Blame the victim!
At that point, Tatyana Vusik said, the other group began attacking her family verbally, telling them to go back to Russia. She said the group cursed at her and her sister, Dasha Yakovchuk.
Someone needs to point out to this…person…that none of that justifies punching someone. Hey, look! More defamation:
Tatyana Vusik recalled that it was Singh who first mentioned “gay” as part of a crude sexual invitation apparently meant for her husband.
And how did her husband respond? That noble, brave, good-natured man tried to defuse the situation, with humor (and then his fist!):
She recalled that her husband said the atmosphere was growing tense, so he used the word “gay” as part of a joke.
She said neither she nor her husband is part of any anti-gay group or movement.
More shameless finger-pointing:
An earlier version of events from the Sheriff’s Department has confirmed that there was a confrontation between the two groups, but that the “Russian-speaking” group had hurled homophobic slurs at Singh and racial remarks at him and his friends, according to witness statements.
“That’s what they say, but they don’t know the truth,” Yakovchuk told The Bee in an interview Tuesday. “It was exactly the other way around.”
Tatyana recalled that after the exchange began, she, her sister and the children left the park. Her husband and Shevchenko and another friend stayed behind.
Why? Why did they stay behind, if their “families” were leaving what was supposed to be a pure Christian, “family outting”? To try and defuse the tension with more humor? Hmmm. Maybe they were going to pray for Satender, since he was going to hell for two reasons, instead of just one!!
Soft punch. SOFT PUNCH. That’s what comes next in this grossly offensive, poorly-concocted story:
When Vusik came home later that night, he told his wife there was a confrontation, and he acted in self-defense. She recalled that Vusik said Singh had lifted a broken glass bottle and aimed at him. He threw a “soft punch” and ran away, Tatyana Vusik said.
Soft enough to knock a man down and send him hurtling backwards until his head bounced off the base of a picnic table? That sort of “soft”?
This is important:
Sheriff’s detectives said there are no accounts from independent witnesses or any of Singh’s friends that support that account.
More bullshit:
Tatyana Vusik said her husband had no idea that Singh had died when he left in early July for a business trip exporting vehicles.
Obstruct justice much?
She refused to disclose her husband’s whereabouts, but said she has spoken with him at least twice a week since he left.
In their phone conversations, she said, Andrey Vusik has repeatedly expressed his condolences to Singh’s family. She said he is having a difficult time grasping the gravity of the crime.
Further bovine fecal matter spouting:
“We just got in the confrontation between the churches and the gay community; what happened was a tragic accident, and had nothing to do with gays,” she said through a translator.
Special place in hell, for anyone who helps cover up a crime; extra furnace points if it’s a hate crime, that’s all I’m sayin’.
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UPDATE #3:
Pictures of the accused, so you don’t have to create a login for the Sacramento Bee…
Andrey Vusik (thrower of the lethal punch):
Aleksandr Shevchenko:
I don’t deny mine was a generalisation. But yours had no basis whatsoever. If you just stuck to the first generation community as a whole, I could buy the generalisation. But you extended it to readers of this blog who have shown nothing but outrage over this. I see no evidence whatsoever for your stereotype.
Krish – Your absolutely correct. The Desi community as a whole is vehemently anti-gay, to such a point that we could easily dethrone the Orthodox Russians. After all, it’s common knowledge that the Desi community is a commanding voice of the anti-gay movement (and every other conservative cause). Behind the scenes of every anti-gay protest, is a Ravi Uncle, or a Chitra Auntie. Gay people across the globe tremble at the wrath of the Desi community.
In all seriousness, I’m not sure what sort of Desi’s you’ve been around, but I have never ever met one who would believe that he had it coming to him. Keep in mind, we are talking about America. Not Shiv Sena’s head quarters.
Cut it out, Krish**** Your outrage is misplaced here. If you have the desire to rattle/troll somebody, direct it appropriately (hint: the sheriff’s office).
Pravin, this was not necessary either:
In general, my personal opinion is that you, Pravin, have been too unnecessarily shrill with regards to the victim’s friends. You have no idea what has been going on with them, given that their lives were suddenly touched by a murder which, even if accidental, was perhaps caused by (well-connected? powerful?) Russian-origin thugs/hooligans. In my opinion, it is better for them to keep a low public profile while cooperating quietly with the investigation, if one is going on in a healthy manner. Enough with your judgement of them without actually living in their skin right now. If you want to help, start a letter or petition or something that others can sign. Start mobilizing.
That is my 2 cents, for whatever it is worth.
Pravin, Why oh why would you bring the great ABD – DBD divide into this? A gay man , a brown man was beaten to death. The sheriff’s office ostensibly – from what we know – dragged their feet and as a result the perpetrator escaped. The SAC bee wrote the story up, SM blogged it,Mark diligently followed up . Not one national news channel as far as I know covered this. I have to believe that Satender’s death did not raise an outrage either because he was brown or because he was gay. Either way , its his status as a minority that contributed to this. Does’nt that affect you and me both , regardless of where we were born? Because , you know , we are both minorities here and people of color .
I am sorry if you think all DBDs are homophobic besides, of course,talking and dressing funny. Our destinies in this country are entwined at some level , however much you would like to distance yourself from my kind.
I do not wish to bring up any divide. Even though I am an ABD, I spent part of my childhood in India. I have no problem associating with both sides. But despite my little disagreement with Krish, I am in agreement with the spirit of what he said. Yes, I am judging the friends very harshly. But I did blame the cops for not providing a reassurance to these friends or the poor grandma(who gets a pass from me). Still the friends could have pressured the papers to correct the police and other people’s account. We hear a more detailed account of the incident from the Russian side. THere is some amount of cowardice when white strangers are going to vigils for the guy, yet these people cannot be bothered to even give an off the record clarification of the facts to the press. This lady says AFTER the guy escaped that they gave the cops the whole account. YOu know, how about a second account. WHy not tell the papers why are they afraid? From what I read, these Russians have no connection to a mafia. There is caution, and then there is paranoia. I have never seen this in a non mafia case where the victim’s family and friends are too scared to speak up for their dead friend.
And the first generation as a whole and homophobia? It is not the violent superhate filled kind you see in the West. But it is a more widespread non violent version of either disgust or ridicule of gays. More like a “Chi chi chi” response from that generation.
1) I doubt they are organized thugs. And with their immigration status, I doubt they would want to get in more trouble by killing more people 2) Obviously the investigation wasnt going on in a healthy manner. THey should have known that the day the cops said they had little to go on despite the recent account by one of the friends that they gave the cops even videos of the murderer. 3) I don’t have to live in the skin of a coward to know a coward. They are cowards. And I will judge them. I have been in riskier situations for lesser causes. I even started putting my email address now. And if I can get involved, I will not be hiding from the cops. 4) Assuming it is understandable their near non existent public profile, are the friends not afraid that when this case goes to court, they will be asked to testify and the thugs friends could go after them during the court case? What difference does it make if they go on record now or later? Let’s not forget that they still not have even given us a fully detailed anonymous account. You would think that one of those friends with any amount of curiosity would have checked out the links on Mark’s webpage to this site. SO they could come here and give us an anonymous clarification.
http://www.news10.net/display_story.aspx?storyid=31393
In this link, only of Singh’s friends come forward and she does it anonymously. So why didn’t she make the same effort to bring the whole story a month ago since she is not sticking her neck on the line? And even now, the other 5 friends are quiet. And trust me, this incident was as much as an anti Indian crime as anti gay. So I expect the Indian organizations over there to make a comparable effort. I seriously do not think the Russians would have been this bold if a bunch of gay white guys from SF were partying. It was a combination of sexual orientation and race. IN fact, in this link, there are more references to anti Hindu and indian taunts like 7-11 and other things. Not to mention Satyender became the target because he was about to get up and say something in defense of the group. SHe makes some excuse they are afraid to give their name because there were threats. Well, thugs always make threats. If you were to take every threat seriously, no one will be willing to go to the press for most crimes. THey are going to know her name when she testifies.
much of this toughie talk against the boy’s friends is idiotic. very easy to say what you or they should or would have done. more iditotic to imply that south asians as a rule prefer to flee rather than fight. always depends on the situation, the stakes, the people involved, and the numbers and chances of victory. This goes for any and every group of people involved in such altercations. But then don’t worry, Indians can be as ridiculous and violent as the rest. In Jersey City, Indians fought with effective brutality against white racists throughout the 90s. In Brooklyn, in both east new york and in sunset park, Bengalis have fought as racial units against Puerto Ricans, killing a Puerto Rican boy just recently in some stupid park violence not entirely unlike above. Perhaps that will satisfy any shame you feel about indians not being belligerent, tribal, or retaliatory enough.
No one is saying they should have administered a big time beatdown. It’s the way they have been mostly quiet after the death lettting the cops get away with incredible incompetence. It is easy to judge them because i have put myself at risk in less important situations. So yes, I can extrapolate.
The good news is the Satendar Singh story is still in the local news. Today on page B1 of our local newspaper the Sacramento Bee (sacbee.com) is an update story.
“Lead suspect in alleged hate crime still missing†http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/323939.html
The story basically rehashes what we all know and updates us with the FBI info –
What is bugging me now is that the family of the accused has talked to the local newspaper and TV media and this has put a spin on the story, for example continuing from today’s article:
So the story so far described by the family of the accused two – a bunch of drunken, cussing, nasty dancing, men kissing men, bottle breaking, Russian hating people with an anti-family, pro-homosexual agenda made the public park unpleasant and later attacked one member of the Russian group with a broken bottle and in self defense the aggressor was punched. He unfortunately died, but it was an accident.
I talked to someone closer to the story and he says the sheriff’s department is requesting that the parties not talk about the case, not jeopardize the case, etc.
The Singh group and witnesses are relatively silent. The Russian group family members have talked a lot. It bugs me and it puts a spin on the whole case.
Realize there are a bunch of us locally that are going to follow this to the end to make sure it does not just fade away (Satendar Justice Coalition, CAPITAL, Nate and me for example) and I’ll keep you all posted.
http://www.sacbee.com/breton/story/325834.html
Updated link from Mark’s blog.
Well, now there is this article about many unanswered questions. Do you know why it is still unanswered? Because the freaking cowards in Singh’s circle of friends refuse to come out publicly. So all we hear are the accuseds’ families come forward and give their accounts with the cops giving us little infornation on the details of the day leading upto the incident. ALl we got is one woman who gave us a brief account hiding her identity. None of the guys in the party has even come forward anonymously. No wonder both sides are treated equally suspiciously in this incident. Great job, you freaking cowards, if you are reading this.
The news from Sacramento, CA …
Today the man accused of a hate crime, Aleksandr Shevchenko, appeared in court with his attorney and pleaded “not guilty†to the crime (officially “intimidating and interfering with the victim’s rightsâ€). He has a preliminary court date September 26 and remains free on bail.
Nobody in their party – Mr. Shevchenko, his attorney, his sister, other relatives and friends – said a thing except his attorney:
.
I’m thinking the attorney told them to all to shut up! considering all the wacky and sometimes contradictory things they have now blurted out to the press and TV cameras.
The second suspect Andrey Vusik, who threw the punch and is accused of manslaughter and hate crime, remains in Russia “on businessâ€. More likely he is afraid to return to face the music.
Satendar Singh’s side has not said much. They may still be following the sheriff’s recommendations not to discuss the case.
Still a lot of unanswered questions remain about this case that hopefully will be explained during the trials.
There is a local contingent of Asians and gays that are following this case closely, about 12 of us today.
The story was bumped out of TV news today by a large forest fire near by, with only a brief mention on one channel. Otherwise it would have made it, all 3 networks had camera crews present.
Now there is a second similar story in the news. In mid July an East Indian man was attacked and beaten severely by a couple at Lake Tahoe after racial slurs. They will be charged with hate crimes.
Suspect in Lake Natoma attack pleads not guilty at sacbee.com August 22, 2007 http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/338842.html
Asian community alarmed by assault at Lake Tahoe Couple’s alleged attack on Indian man is compared to fatal incident at Lake Natoma earlier this summer. at sacbee.com August 22, 2007 http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/338310.html
Satendar Singh video before the assault becomes center of attention at hearing. View it yourself …
The preliminary hearing for the man charged with a hate crime against Satendar Singh (not the man charged with his death, that person fled to Russia) began today in Sacramento.
Today at the hearing an 18 minute home video made by the Satendar group hours before the assault became the center of attention.
Prosecution may use it as part of the proof Satendar was assaulted because he was perceived gay.
Defense will use it to try to discredit a key witness because the witness said she didn’t know if Satendar was gay. The defense attorney’s words to channel 13 news: “She [key witness] said I don’t know if he’s gay, Surinder [sic] was gay or not, he didn’t share it with us because of our culture. Well you watch this video and it’s impossible – its impossible!- not to form that impression.” The defense laywer said if she lied about knowing Satendar was gay, all her testimony should be thrown out. The defense lawyer mispronounced Satendar’s name the entire afternoon and was even corrected by the judge.
The 18 minute home video is at channel 13 news: http://cbs13.com/local/lake.natomas.brawl.2.608909.html
The hearing continues tomorrow, Wednesday Dec 12, 2007.
Mark, thank you for remembering us and taking the time to post this update.
Yes, thank you.
So sad. I watched the video clip… doesn’t seem like they were doing anything other than minding their own business 🙁
Any updates?
Latest news:
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/970295.html
Thanks, Buster.
Here is a beautiful video marking the 1-year anniversary of the death of Satendar Singh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wYSSUNuIl0
It was just six years ago that Harvard University’s Civil Rights Project called Sacramento ‘America’s Most Integrated City’ and ‘Most tolerant of diversity.’ But then a wave of slavic evangelists flooded into the Capital City’s suburbs and brought with them a virus of hatred and homophobia from abroad, foreign to a gentle city.
It caught the residents of Sacramento by surprise.
Violent protests by Russian-language immigrants began at lgbt community events in 2006, then Satendar Singh, a Fijian-born immigrant, was attacked and killed by Russian evangelical immigrants because they believed him to be gay.
These evangelical and pentacostal extremists claim to love God, but show no signs of honoring God’s commandment, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” I have spoken with many of these protestors and they are quick to defend Singh’s killers as justified and never once did they show remorse for the death of Satendar. As if there is any justification for killing a man. And of course they can claim any outrageous deed they want, for they have killed Satendar and he cannot defend himself. But woe to them, for they’ve killed the one man who could confirm their unbelievable story.
There are few people who more soundly deny the faith found in scripture than these evangelists, profoundly noting the hypocrisy in their praise of Jesus while ignoring his words of compassion and love. It is shameful. Perhaps one day they can find their way back into God’s loving embrace. We can all pray for their salvation. They harm their own children by teaching them only to hate – a trait which will prevent them from becoming contributing members of this country’s secular society.
In case you are wondering – the number of times Jesus condemned homosexuality in the bible? Zero. The number of times he condemned hypocrites? 16. Jesus proclaimed with compassion, “That which you do unto these, the least of my children, you do unto me.”
This video marks the one year anniversary of the death of Satendar Singh at the hands of evangelical immigrants. It is meant to keep this violent act in our consciousness until all those involved are brought to justice. It was more than just Andrey Vusik who was involved. Vusik and Shevchenko’s friends at Lake Natoma that day, they too MUST face justice. Please remind District Attorney Jan Scully that more must be done to prosecute these criminals.
Help capture Andrey Vusik – Singh’s killer. He is a fugitive from justice most likely aided in flight by the evangelical community from which he came.
The idea for this video began with one of the signs held up by a young protestor that read: “Woe to them who call evil good and good evil.” It struck me that the lgbt community’s response to the protestors includes that very same quote from scripture (Isaiah 5:20).
The lyrics of the song, and the pictures, objectively taken, trust the viewer/listener to draw his or her own conclusion. – Thanks for watching and please remember in your prayers Satendar Singh, Matthew Shepard and all gay, lesbian and transgendered victims of violence spawned and ignited by the kind of ignorance and fanaticism shown here. Sacramento is a beautiful, historic capital city and the place I call home. It is home to many good people – too many for the actions of these few to have any lasting effect. Song credit: “Hallelujah!” by lesbian singer K.D. Lang.
Note: Scripture which supports loving all of God’s children: Luke 6:31: “And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.” Galatians 5:14 “For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”; “All are the sons and daughters of God, good people all, Brothers and Sisters, since created by One Father. No rooted difference is there between them.” (From Hindu scripture, since Singh was Hindu in this secular, not solely christian, country); “Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother?” (Judiasm, Malachi 2:10); Matthew 7:12, Luke 6:31: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, for this is the law and the prophets.”
The murders of Satendar Singh and Matthew Shepard are the same issue as Proposition 8. It’s a matter of love versus hate. Hate killed Satendar. Hate killed Matthew. And hate spawned Proposition 8. It is about hate and love. No more and no less.
To read more about the search for Fugitive Killer Andrey Vusik, read Bay Area Reporter article by Dan Aiello: http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=3309
Where is any offer of a reward? Where is AT&T to say, ‘we will not tolerate the murder of one of our employees!’ Singh was in Sacramento for AT&T. It’s time to see a reward offered for the capture of Andrey Vusik. Ironically, according to the Bay Area Reporter story, Vusik isn’t on the FBI’s most wanted list because the sacramento sheriff determined he was killed for being gay, not for his race. Bush vetoed hate crimes legislation that included sexual orientation. This helped Vusik. Satendar Singh’s murder is the perfect example why we need sexual orientation included in the Federal Hate Crimes law. George Bush has aided and abetted the murderer of Satendar Singh.
Satendar Singh-A homosexual who was killed in California 2007. But here’s what happened. Satendar Singh was drunk in a park, committing indecency by doing ‘dirty dancing’ & exposing himself where kids could see him. As understand a Russian man with his friend were irate over Satendar Singh’s anti-social conduct & told him that they were going to teach him a lesson, so they hit him a few times. Satendar Singh died, but the men didn’t intend to kill him, only beat him up to teach him a lesson. Yes, the men should’ve called the cops. The jury concluded the man didn’t intend to kill him, thus only convicted him of negligent homicide, think the other man returned to Russia before trial. The man who killed Satendar Singh got 5 months in jail. Box Turtle Bulletin like other gay sites complained about the verdict & sentence, yet they didn’t care about Satendar Singh’s anti-social conduct before he was killed. Satendar Singh had no right to expose himself in a park. He should’ve been arrested for indecency. Satendar Singh died because the alcohol slowed down his reaction & the death was negligent but it wasn’t murder because the man didn’t intend to kill him. The Sacramento Bee sympathized with Satendar Singh, yet not as much talk of Satendar Singh’s anti-social conduct before his death. I don’t want homosexuals committing indecency & I don’t want gays committing assault&battery. It would’ve been better if Satendar Singh had been arrested but not killed & while his death was excessive, it was Satendar Singh’s anti-social conduct which killed him. If Satendar Singh hadn’t committed indecency that day, I don’t think he would’ve been killed.