Several of these stories and their victims are part of the anti-queer wave of legislation put in place by the UK conservative government seeking to outlaw homosexuality. As the anti-queer rhetoric rose, so did the violence against the LGBTQ+ community.

The de Gruchy case was the first time the mainstream press began to use the term “queer-bashing” to describe the murderous level of hate crimes. Before this, the tone was unmistakably mock and/or cruel, but the standard would not hold.

In 1969, Michael de Gruchy was attacked and beaten to death by a teen gang trolling a gay cruising spot in Wimbledon, England. In 1972, Leonard Bestwick was stabbed and left to die after an attempted robbery by two young men who “Set out to roll a queer.” The murder of Mr. Bestwick highlights the capriciousness of hate. Bestwick and his friend were just out, as many others were having a drink, and for this, he was brutally murdered. If his friend had gone into the bathroom first, he might have met the same terrible fate.

On the evening of September 18, 1989, 40, Christoph Schliack, a German immigrant living in the UK for more than 20 years, was murdered in his Shepherd’s Bush, London flat. Kenneth Williams, the 20-something who killed him, managed to flee the city of London for Ireland. Mr. Schliack had attended Leeds University, studying Chinese. He was also a lawyer, but did not practice at the bar for unclear reasons.

On August 30, 1987, Richard Lynn Earnest went to his estranged wife's home, where he removed his wife's and her lover's shoes from the car, replacing them with his carpentry tools. Before driving off, he left two notes, one for his son and the other for his wife. A day later, Richard Earnest would be dead. Mr. Earnest left behind a son and a family who loved him.

On Monday, June 9, 2008, 37, Jeremy Waggoner, a Royal Oak, Michigan hairdresser, was last seen leaving a Detroit, Michigan bar getting into his SUV with a man identified as Rich. When he didn't return home, his partner of seven years called the police, reporting Waggoner missing.

On Monday, March 31, 2025, 31, Kaitoria “Kai” Bankz and 27, Kelmen Merrell King made arrangements to hook up in Autaugaville, Alabama, around 11:40 pm. When they did meet, King and an accomplice attempted to carjack Bankz and her brother, resulting in the death of Bankz.

Watch any of these stories of any of the cases covered on the podcast, check out and subscribe to the YouTube channel at:

https://www.youtube.com/@queerpanic

When I started telling these stories, I understood the organized efforts to shame homosexuality out of existence. What I didn't expect was the level of criminality that would grow out of the demonizing of LGBTQ+ people.

In the 1960s, Chicago police officer John J. Pyne began to organize a group of criminals and con men in an extortion ring that would go on to scam more than 1,000 men out of a million dollars across the United States, Mexico, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The FBI called the Chicken and the Bull extortion scheme the largest scheme of its kind up to that time. It is, in fact, the largest organized extortion of gay men ever. It is also another example of the depths and cold brutality of homophobia unchecked.

Here's the link to the fantastic article William McGown wrote for Slate. The article has become one of the few references to this scandal.

To watch this episode:

https://youtu.be/qSvPhDqNXKU

William McGowan's 2012 article in Slate:

https://slate.com/human-interest/2012/07/the-chickens-and-the-bulls-the-rise-and-incredible-fall-of-a-vicious-extortion-ring-that-preyed-on-prominent-gay-men-in-the-1960s.html