William “Bill-Bill” Brown Jr. is guilty of first-degree murder and robbery with a deadly weapon in the stabbing death of 24-year-old Ryan Keith Skipper. Skipper was gay.
Authorities say Brown plotted with Joseph Bearden to beat and kill Skipper in March 2007, stabbing him nearly 20 times on a rural road in Polk County. Prosecutors argued that the two men wanted to steal Skipper’s car and pegged him an easy target because of his sexuality.
The verdict was announced just before 3 p.m. on Nov. 3. The jury was made up of eight men and four women who began deliberating at about 12:30 p.m. the same afternoon. The trial began Oct. 26. Brown will be sentenced on Dec. 1, delayed because the defense requested a pre-sentencing investigation.
In addition to murder, Brown was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon, arson and tampering with evidence. He pleaded guilty to both of those charges on the first day of the trial, and each one carries an additional 20 years sentence. The defense did not call any witnesses, and Brown did not testify.
During a separate trial in February, Bearden, 24, was found guilty of second-degree murder, along with several other charges. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Skipper’s family – his mother Patricia Mulder, his stepfather Lynn Mulder and his brother Damien Skipper – were present at the trial. After the verdict, Brian Winfield of Equality Florida spoke, and Lynn Mulder read the following statement:
We would like to thank the State Attorney’s Office and especially Mr. Castillo for consistently striving to uncover the truth and seek justice for our family and for Ryan. We want to thank the detectives of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, who worked diligently and showed compassion to our family. Thank you to the crime scene technicians, whose attention to detail helped uncover the truth. And thank you to everyone else along the way who committed their time and talent to ensuring that justice was served. Lastly, we thank the jurors who have taken time from their jobs and families to fulfill an important civic duty. You paid attention to testimony that was brought before you and rendered a conclusion that serves justice and benefits society.
To the public, we want you to know that Ryan, like so many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, was a good and upstanding member of this community. We all deserve to be judged by our abilities and character instead of our differences. We are all human beings and we all deserve the right to pursue happiness, to have a job, to be parents either naturally or by adoption, to be in a committed loving relationship which is legally recognized, to serve our country in the military openly and honestly with pride. Finally we want the public to know the devastation hate crimes inflict is not only on the individual victim but their families, friends and the entire community feel the impact.
We will always cherish our memories of Ryan. We along with countless others will continue to honor Ryan by always standing up for truth, honesty and equality for all!
