Forty-four-year-old Gary Raynal had only lived in Kansas City, Kansas for five years; prior to that, he had resided in San Francisco, California. He worked as a server at various area restaurants, but in 2001, had been making plans to move to the much warmer environs of central Florida. Sadly, he would never get the chance to realize this goal.
On the evening of Friday, August 25th, Gary walked from his home to a nearby bar, Kennedy’s, where he stayed until closing time. Witnesses later reported that after he left the establishment, clearly somewhat intoxicated, he spoke to someone in a white pickup truck that stopped alongside him on the curb. He then subsequently climbed into the vehicle, which may have contained two individuals. It was the last time anyone saw Gary alive.
The following morning, Gary’s viciously abused body was discovered by a resident under the deck of an apartment in a complex in Leawood, Kansas. The victim had been repeatedly battered in the head and upper body, had his ear partially burned off and much of his body hair singed, and most horrifically of all, was found with his trousers and underwear pulled down and a seventeen-inch metal bar shoved into his anus.
According to his family, Gary was very openly gay, and tended to get exceptionally friendly and affectionate with people when he’d had too much to drink; they speculated that perhaps Gary had flirted with someone in the bar who became offended at the advances and turned to violence as a result. In fact, a friend of Gary’s who wished to remain anonymous told the media that only a few months before his murder, Gary had been taken advantage of by an individual he picked up at a bar and took home; the man had stolen Gary’s truck, though hadn’t physically harmed him.
Although authorities are reluctant to categorize Gary Raynal’s death as a hate crime, at least until the perpetrator is caught and a definite motive revealed, relatives and friends of the victim are convinced that the state in which the body was found suggests an assailant or assailants who likely targeted Gary because of his sexuality. Investigators are hoping that someone who knows the identity of the individual or individuals seen picking Gary up in the white pickup truck in front of Kennedy’s Bar will come forward and solve the case once and for all.
Crime Immemorial 