Gwen Araujo Retrial: Merel testifies in his own defense
Jose Merel took the stand in his own defense telling his version of the events the night Gwen Araujo was brutally murdered for the first time. Merel, 25, testified he found Araujo very attractive. "She was kind of wild, I guess you would say she wasn't shy,'' Merel said. He testified he had sex with her and that the question of her biological sex arose sometime before the killing, adding that it was not a hot topic among his friends - a statement contradicted by other witnesses who testified that Merel, Magidson, Cazares and Nabors were on a mission to find out the truth. Merel said he vomited and burst into tears when he knew. "I think I was going through some kind of identity crisis because I seriously thought I was gay,'' Merel said. "Your whole life you believe you are a heterosexual and you find out you've been pleasured by a man. It disgusted me . . . Emotionally I was crushed.''
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