June 5, 2025 • 21 mins
On Thanksgiving weekend in 2006, 24-year-old Priscilla Pimentel, affectionately known as “Peaches” by her family, never showed up for dinner. Days later, her siblings made a devastating discovery inside her Queens apartment.
Priscilla was kind, funny, full of life, and part of a close-knit Puerto Rican family. She was also a queer woman living independently in New York City, chasing her dreams and always staying connected to her roots. Her brutal murder remains unsolved nearly 18 years later.
In this episode, we remember Priscilla Pimentel not as a headline, but as a human being. We look at her life, the circumstances of her death, and the questions that still haunt her case.
We also zoom out to examine the long and painful history of violence against the LGBTQ+ community, from systemic failures in law enforcement to the rise of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and how it continues to manifest today. This is not just a story about loss. It’s about the urgent need for visibility, justice, and respect.
Content warning: This episode includes discussion of violent crime, including anti-LGBTQ violence.
Call to Action
If you have any information about the murder of Priscilla Pimentel, please come forward. Your tip could help bring long-overdue justice to her family.
📞 Call: 1-800-577-TIPS
💻 Submit online:
Crimestoppers.NYPDOnline.org
Tips are completely confidential.
To support LGBTQ+ youth and help build a safer, more inclusive future, consider donating to The Trevor Project, a leading organization providing crisis support, education, and advocacy.
***
Method & Madness is researched, written, hosted, & produced by Dawn Cate
Music by Tymur Khakimov from Pixabay
***
Get in Touch!: methodandmadnesspod@gmail.com
CONNECT:
DIVE INTO MORE:
MethodandMadnessPodcast.com
***
All sources are listed on the website, under each episode description.
MethodandMadnessPodcast.com
Thank you for listening!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/method-madness--6241524/support.
Priscilla was kind, funny, full of life, and part of a close-knit Puerto Rican family. She was also a queer woman living independently in New York City, chasing her dreams and always staying connected to her roots. Her brutal murder remains unsolved nearly 18 years later.
In this episode, we remember Priscilla Pimentel not as a headline, but as a human being. We look at her life, the circumstances of her death, and the questions that still haunt her case.
We also zoom out to examine the long and painful history of violence against the LGBTQ+ community, from systemic failures in law enforcement to the rise of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, and how it continues to manifest today. This is not just a story about loss. It’s about the urgent need for visibility, justice, and respect.
Content warning: This episode includes discussion of violent crime, including anti-LGBTQ violence.
Call to Action
If you have any information about the murder of Priscilla Pimentel, please come forward. Your tip could help bring long-overdue justice to her family.
📞 Call: 1-800-577-TIPS
💻 Submit online:
Crimestoppers.NYPDOnline.org
Tips are completely confidential.
To support LGBTQ+ youth and help build a safer, more inclusive future, consider donating to The Trevor Project, a leading organization providing crisis support, education, and advocacy.
***
Method & Madness is researched, written, hosted, & produced by Dawn Cate
Music by Tymur Khakimov from Pixabay
***
Get in Touch!: methodandmadnesspod@gmail.com
CONNECT:
DIVE INTO MORE:
MethodandMadnessPodcast.com
***
All sources are listed on the website, under each episode description.
MethodandMadnessPodcast.com
Thank you for listening!
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/method-madness--6241524/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
This episode includes discussion of violent crime, including anti LGBTQ violence.
Please listen with care. Welcome to method and Madness. This
is murdered Priscilla Pimentelle. I'm your host, Dawn. The phone
(00:31):
rang and rang at one O two nine eighty seventh
Avenue in Queens, New York. It was Thanksgiving Day, two
thousand and six. Across the country, families gathered around dining
room tables, passing plates of food, arguing politics, and watching
the Chiefs take on the Broncos. But in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
(00:52):
one chair at the table sat empty. The Pimentelle or
Tees family had come together to celebrate, but concern grew
with each passing hour. One of them was missing. Priscilla Pimantel,
just twenty four years old, hadn't arrived. She hadn't called,
and she wasn't answering her phone. Call after call went
(01:14):
to voicemail, and the silence made no sense. Priscilla wouldn't
just disappear, not like this. Priscilla Pimantel had moved to
New York City just four years earlier, but she never
let distance come between her and her family. She came
home often, never missed a birthday never skipped a holiday,
(01:35):
so when she failed to show up on Thanksgiving, her
mother Nancy felt it in her bones something was wrong.
She began calling Priscilla's friends, then the hospitals, but as
the day came to a close and there was still
no word, Nancy's worry turned to dread. The next morning, Friday,
(01:56):
November twenty fourth, Priscilla's siblings got in the car and
made the eighty mile drive from Bethlehem to Queens, New York.
They tried to stay hopeful, clinging to the best case scenario,
but in their hearts they feared the worst. They arrived
at the building on eighty seventh Avenue around one fifteen
(02:17):
p m. They rang the bell, knocked on the door,
no answer. Priscilla's front door was locked. Unable to wait
any longer, Priscilla's younger sister climbed through a window and
entered the apartment. What she found inside was a nightmare.
Moments later, neighbors would recall seeing Priscilla's siblings burst out
(02:40):
of the building and onto the sidewalk, their screams of
anguish echoing down the street. Priscilla Pimentelle, affectionately known as Peaches,
by those who loved her most. Had called her mother
just a week before Thanksgiving. She told her she was
(03:02):
coming home for dinner and bringing a friend. Born in
nineteen eighty two to Nancy and Roberto, Priscilla was one
of five siblings in a large and loving Puerto Rican family.
Nancy had long dreamed of raising her children away from
the fast pace of the Bronx, Seeking a quieter, safer
(03:22):
place to call home. She eventually moved the family to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
while Priscilla was still in elementary school. By then, Priscilla
was being raised by Nancy and her stepfather Roll. Bethlehem,
a small city in eastern Pennsylvania, sits about fifty miles
north of Philadelphia and roughly eighty miles west of New
(03:44):
York City. Priscilla was the kind of person people remembered.
Her mother, Nancy described her as a happy soul with
a sharp sense of humor and a heart full of love.
She was quick to make others laugh with her spot
on in person nations, and just as quick to stand
up for what was right, especially when it came to
(04:05):
defending the people she cared about. Around the age of twenty,
Priscilla made a bold move, returning to her roots in
New York. She found an apartment in Richmond Hill, Queen's,
a quiet residential neighborhood in the city's largest borough. It
was a modest, second floor unit, but it was hers.
(04:25):
Even from a distance. She remained closely connected to her family.
She took a job bartending, made friends easily, and never
lost her warmth or her charm. Living alone, she always
had one loyal companion by her side, her small dog, Gucci,
who she was often seen walking around the neighborhood. Like
(04:46):
many young adults living in a big city, Priscilla enjoyed
going out and socializing. In two thousand and four, she
began a relationship with a woman that quickly became serious,
serious enough that she brought her girlfriend home to Bethlehem
on two occasions to meet her family. That relationship ended
in mid two thousand and six. Nancy, ever hopeful, would
(05:10):
occasionally ask her daughter when she might move back to Pennsylvania,
but Priscilla had other plans. She was thinking about going
back to school now. It was Friday, November twenty fourth,
two thousand and six, and no one had heard from
her in days. The family was sick with worry. When
her siblings stepped inside the queen's apartment, they were met
(05:33):
with a horrifying scene. The walls of the bedroom were
streaked with blood. Priscilla was found in the bathtub, her
hands bound behind her back. She was covered in blood
and in mint green paint, the same color she'd recently
used to brighten her apartment walls. Her beloved dog, Gucci,
(05:55):
lay dead beside her. Police arrived quick. There were no
signs of forest entry, nothing had been stolen. It appeared
that Priscilla may have known her killer. Later reports revealed
that her cell phone was missing. On the floor of
her bedroom was a Pride flag. Her freshly painted mint
(06:17):
walls now bore the stains of brutal violence. Had this
been a hate crime, had Priscilla been targeted for her identity?
It was a phone call. Priscilla's mother will never forget
the kind that cleaves a life into before and after
the most devastating news imaginable. The brightest light of the
(06:37):
family was gone, and nothing made sense. Just weeks earlier,
Priscilla had promised to take her little sister shopping during
her next visit home. The family's new reality was unfathomable.
An autopsy revealed that Priscilla had been stabbed multiple times
in the chest and arms, While the exact time of
(06:58):
death was difficult to detec German one neighbor told investigators
he had last seen her alive five days before the discovery.
The Richmond Hill neighborhood was shaken. That something so brutal
could happen right there behind closed doors, just upstairs was terrifying.
The tenants who lived in the apartment below Priscilla's moved
(07:22):
out shortly after the murder. A killer had entered their community,
and fear settled in. Security cameras were mounted on homes.
People locked their doors a little earlier, a little tighter.
With the holiday season underway, the usual joy and festivity
felt out of reach. Police launched an investigation, interviewing neighbors, friends,
(07:45):
co workers, and Priscilla's loved ones, but gathering evidence proved difficult.
Whoever had done this had gone to great lengths to
cover their tracks, pouring paint over Priscilla's body in a
chilling ate to destroy forensic clues. Some reports claimed that
Priscilla's dog had been killed alongside her, but District Attorney
(08:08):
Melinda Katz clarified that it appeared Gucci had crawled into
the tub and stayed by Priscilla's side, passing away a
few days later. Priscilla's funeral took place on Monday, December fourth,
two thousand and six, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, close to where
her family lived. She was laid to rest at Cedar
(08:29):
Hill Memorial Park, surrounded by relatives and friends who mourned
a life taken far too soon. Nearly nineteen years have passed,
and still no arrests have been made. Yet Priscilla's case
remains alive in the hearts of those who knew her,
and even in the hopes of those seeking justice. In
(08:49):
twenty twenty three, District Attorney Cats told NBC News that
advances in forensic technology offered renewed possibility for solving the crime.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
It was.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
There's a poignant twist of fate. Priscilla had been an
avid fan of forensic files and even considered studying forensic
science herself, and we're seeing it more and more cold
cases being solved with the help of that forensic technology.
In that same interview, Nancy Pimentel said she's forgiven whoever
(09:22):
stole her daughter's life. She prays for justice every day,
holding on to the belief that no one is beyond accountability.
Every Thanksgiving, Nancy still opens her home to family members
who can attend. They gather around the table, cook a
feast in Priscilla's honor, and share memories of her laughter,
(09:42):
her warmth, and the love she brought into their lives.
In the midst of grief. They keep her spirit alive.
Let's take a break. Priscilla's murder left behind a tale
(10:05):
of grief, unanswered questions, and a family forever changed. And
while her case remains officially unsolved, it raises deeper questions
about the world Priscilla lived in and about the violence
that continues to claim the lives of LGBTQ people across
the country. Because the truth is, what happened to Priscilla
(10:27):
wasn't an anomaly. It was part of a much larger,
deeply rooted history. June twenty first, nineteen seventy seven, San Francisco, California,
a gay man, thirty three year old Robert Hillsborough and
his friend, twenty seven year old Jerry Taylor, had just
left a club called oil Can Harry's, where they'd been
(10:49):
for a night of dancing. They stopped off for a
bite at Wizburger's in the Mission District and got into
a dispute with a group of young men who began
shouting anti gay slurs at them. In the driver's seat
of his brand new car, Robert sped away with Jerry
in the passenger seat next to him. Neither man realized
that the men were following behind them in another car. Robert,
(11:12):
a city gardener who loved classical music, parked about four
blocks from his apartment. He and Jerry got out of
the car and were immediately confronted by the same four men.
Jerry was beaten, but managed to run away, hopping over
an eight foot fence, yelling the f slur repeatedly. One
(11:33):
of the attackers stabbed Robert Hillsborough over and over. Even
after Robert had fallen to the ground, the attack continued.
The knife stabbed into his chest repeatedly and into his
face fifteen times. The knife went into his body. Robert
Hillsborough died forty five minutes later at the hospital, and
(11:54):
the four attackers were later arrested. The man who killed Robert,
nine teen year old John Cordova, was convicted of second
degree murder and served just ten years in prison. His accomplice,
twenty one year old Thomas Spooner, was later convicted of
assault but acquitted of the murder charge. The other two
(12:15):
men were never charged with anything. A witness to the
murder would later tell police that the killer yelled out,
this one's for Anita.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Last year, Dade County voters overwhelmingly repealed an ordinance granting
special privileges to homosexuals. But the militant homosexuals don't take
no for an answer.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
This declaration was, of course, about Anita Bryant, a name
that comes up often in conversations about the modern revolution
of the LGBTQ community. Bryant, a former beauty pageant, contestant
and singer, is best known for her hate campaign against
the LGBTQ. In nineteen seventy seven, in Dade County, Florida,
(12:57):
an ordinance was passed prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation. A Florida resident at the time, Anita Bryant,
then began the campaign to repeal the antidiscrimination ordinance, which
ended up being successful.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
When word that there was an ordinance in Miami that
that would allow known homosexuals to teach my children. God
help us as a nation to stand in these dark days.
There are many evil things that would claim under the
disguise of discrimination and under civil rights, would claim the
(13:37):
civil rights.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Of our children.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
And I know that God has put a burden on
my heart and on Bob's and once all this messes
over with, we feel like God is leading us to
start a ministry to the homosexuals.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
She was insistent that homosexuals were getting special treatment by
not being discriminated against. Brian was adamant that homosexuality is
an abomination and that the laws of the land should
be in line with God's laws.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
According to the Word of God, it's an abomination to
practice homosexuality. And the same is true for like Archbishop
Carrol who took the stand that he would go to
jail rather than to hire known homosexuals into their schools,
and our pastor said that he would do the same
and would even burn the school rather than allow them
to be taught of homosexuals. And we feel as strongly.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
She said, quote, homosexuals cannot reproduce, so they must recruit,
and to freshen their ranks, they must recruit the youth
of America. Anita Bryant quickly became the punchline of late
night talk show host Johnny Carson as well as other comedians,
and the La Times called her the female Archie Bunker,
(14:53):
a living caricature of abrasive bigotry. Robert Hillsborough's mother, seventy
eight year old Hell, came to San Francisco and made
the following statement quote, now that my son's murder has happened,
I think about the Bryant campaign a lot. Anyone who
wants to carry on this kind of thing must be sick.
My son's blood is on her hands. Helen Hillsborough filed
(15:18):
a five million dollar lawsuit against Anita Bryant for her
Save the Children campaign, but it was dismissed by a judge. Sadly,
this homophobic rhetoric didn't dial along with Anita in December
of twenty twenty four, despite the progress that the gay
community has made in the years since Stonewall. Earlier this year,
a report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of
(15:41):
Law found that LGBTQ people in the US are five
times more likely to experience violent victimization than non LGBTQ people.
Black LGBTQ people have the highest rates of victimization overall,
followed by Hispanic and white LGBTQ people. On April ninth
(16:02):
of this year, police were called to an elementary school
in Indianapolis after staff triggered a silent alarm. There was
a person on the premises who was in possession of
a firearm. Officers arrived at the school and confronted the woman,
forty eight year old Carrie Rivers. Rivers was there to
unenroll her sixth grade daughter and told police she didn't
(16:26):
realize she was carrying her firearm was holstered on her waist.
After removing the gun, police interviewed Rivers, whose staff members
said had been irate but since calmed down. Rivers told
the police she was surprised they were there to question
her when they should be questioning her daughter's teacher, whom
(16:46):
she referred to as a dyke bitch. The teacher is
an openly gay woman who displays a Pride flag in
her classroom. Rivers explained that she was taking her child
out of school and would teach her at home instead.
Rivers had become enraged upon learning that one of the
projects the sixth graders had been assigned was quote about
(17:06):
same sex relationships. The assignment in question was a flag
project where students identified different types of flags, one of
them a Pride flag. When Rivers confronted the teacher and
expressed her concerns that she was pushing an agenda, the
teacher excused River's daughter from the assignment. Still, Carrie Rivers
(17:29):
entered the school eager to confront the teacher and the administration.
After police questioned her at the school, she was free
to return home. That same day, she began drafting an email.
The message that Rivers allegedly sent to her daughter's teacher
was filled with spelling, engrammatical errors, and said, in part, hey,
(17:51):
thanks for giving my daughter a real taste of bad
teachers and how messed up this world is coming to.
I will not punish you. God will condemn you to hell,
not only for your personal beliefs, but for the fact
that you use your position to mess with the minds
of our children. You are a sick individual. I have
every right to be angry because you're a child predator
(18:13):
and your only hope is your bitch ass wife that
is a cop. Otherwise someone else would already dealt with
you for your wrongs. Please say your prayers and kiss
your kids goodbye. You never know when God says it's
our time, so always be prepared. That same day, she
also sent the teacher a Facebook friend request and sent
(18:34):
a hateful note via Facebook messenger. It's said, in part
child predator, sick, nasty teacher, you should never tell precious
innocent kids that it's okay to be in same sex relationships.
The teacher called the police to report the messages and
said she wasn't comfortable returning to work. Carrie Rivers was
(18:57):
arrested on April tenth and charged with missus demeanor harassment
and felony possession of a firearm on school property. Hearing
stories like the ones discussed today can be discouraging that,
even fifty six years after Stonewall, fear can so quickly
(19:19):
turn into aggression. Something as simple as a classroom discussion
about flags and inclusivity could lead to a parent showing
up with a gun. But it's also a reminder of
why these conversations matter, of why representation matters. That every
time a person says, stop pushing your sexuality in my face,
for every Anita Bryant that pops up on the scene.
(19:41):
We're reminded that erasure is not an option and that
there's still a lot of work to be done. The
violence faced by LGBTQ people past and present didn't begin
with one person, and it won't end with one law
or one pride month. To support the lgb ATQ community,
consider donating to the Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention
(20:05):
and crisis intervention nonprofit org for LGBTQ plus young people.
More information is in the show notes. If you have
any information about the murder of Priscilla Pimantel, you can
submit a tip by calling one eight hundred five seven
seven tips or visit crimestoppers dot NYPD online dot org.
(20:29):
Tips are confidential. Thank you so much for listening. Method
and Madness is a completely independent podcast, written, produced and
hosted by me. To find out more about the show,
including access to all episodes, visit Method and Madness podcast
(20:51):
dot com. To support the show, consider leaving a rating
or a review, and to connect. I'm on Instagram at
Method and Madness Pod, and you can find me on
tik tok and Facebook as well to chat, suggest a case,
or discuss the episode. Reach out to me at Methodamadness
Pod at gmail dot com. That's it for this week.
(21:13):
Until next time, take care of yourself. You matter. For
Christ's support, text hello to seven four one seven for
one
This episode includes discussion of violent crime, including anti LGBTQ violence.
Please listen with care. Welcome to method and Madness. This
is murdered Priscilla Pimentelle. I'm your host, Dawn. The phone
(00:31):
rang and rang at one O two nine eighty seventh
Avenue in Queens, New York. It was Thanksgiving Day, two
thousand and six. Across the country, families gathered around dining
room tables, passing plates of food, arguing politics, and watching
the Chiefs take on the Broncos. But in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
(00:52):
one chair at the table sat empty. The Pimentelle or
Tees family had come together to celebrate, but concern grew
with each passing hour. One of them was missing. Priscilla Pimantel,
just twenty four years old, hadn't arrived. She hadn't called,
and she wasn't answering her phone. Call after call went
(01:14):
to voicemail, and the silence made no sense. Priscilla wouldn't
just disappear, not like this. Priscilla Pimantel had moved to
New York City just four years earlier, but she never
let distance come between her and her family. She came
home often, never missed a birthday never skipped a holiday,
(01:35):
so when she failed to show up on Thanksgiving, her
mother Nancy felt it in her bones something was wrong.
She began calling Priscilla's friends, then the hospitals, but as
the day came to a close and there was still
no word, Nancy's worry turned to dread. The next morning, Friday,
(01:56):
November twenty fourth, Priscilla's siblings got in the car and
made the eighty mile drive from Bethlehem to Queens, New York.
They tried to stay hopeful, clinging to the best case scenario,
but in their hearts they feared the worst. They arrived
at the building on eighty seventh Avenue around one fifteen
(02:17):
p m. They rang the bell, knocked on the door,
no answer. Priscilla's front door was locked. Unable to wait
any longer, Priscilla's younger sister climbed through a window and
entered the apartment. What she found inside was a nightmare.
Moments later, neighbors would recall seeing Priscilla's siblings burst out
(02:40):
of the building and onto the sidewalk, their screams of
anguish echoing down the street. Priscilla Pimentelle, affectionately known as Peaches,
by those who loved her most. Had called her mother
just a week before Thanksgiving. She told her she was
(03:02):
coming home for dinner and bringing a friend. Born in
nineteen eighty two to Nancy and Roberto, Priscilla was one
of five siblings in a large and loving Puerto Rican family.
Nancy had long dreamed of raising her children away from
the fast pace of the Bronx, Seeking a quieter, safer
(03:22):
place to call home. She eventually moved the family to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania,
while Priscilla was still in elementary school. By then, Priscilla
was being raised by Nancy and her stepfather Roll. Bethlehem,
a small city in eastern Pennsylvania, sits about fifty miles
north of Philadelphia and roughly eighty miles west of New
(03:44):
York City. Priscilla was the kind of person people remembered.
Her mother, Nancy described her as a happy soul with
a sharp sense of humor and a heart full of love.
She was quick to make others laugh with her spot
on in person nations, and just as quick to stand
up for what was right, especially when it came to
(04:05):
defending the people she cared about. Around the age of twenty,
Priscilla made a bold move, returning to her roots in
New York. She found an apartment in Richmond Hill, Queen's,
a quiet residential neighborhood in the city's largest borough. It
was a modest, second floor unit, but it was hers.
(04:25):
Even from a distance. She remained closely connected to her family.
She took a job bartending, made friends easily, and never
lost her warmth or her charm. Living alone, she always
had one loyal companion by her side, her small dog, Gucci,
who she was often seen walking around the neighborhood. Like
(04:46):
many young adults living in a big city, Priscilla enjoyed
going out and socializing. In two thousand and four, she
began a relationship with a woman that quickly became serious,
serious enough that she brought her girlfriend home to Bethlehem
on two occasions to meet her family. That relationship ended
in mid two thousand and six. Nancy, ever hopeful, would
(05:10):
occasionally ask her daughter when she might move back to Pennsylvania,
but Priscilla had other plans. She was thinking about going
back to school now. It was Friday, November twenty fourth,
two thousand and six, and no one had heard from
her in days. The family was sick with worry. When
her siblings stepped inside the queen's apartment, they were met
(05:33):
with a horrifying scene. The walls of the bedroom were
streaked with blood. Priscilla was found in the bathtub, her
hands bound behind her back. She was covered in blood
and in mint green paint, the same color she'd recently
used to brighten her apartment walls. Her beloved dog, Gucci,
(05:55):
lay dead beside her. Police arrived quick. There were no
signs of forest entry, nothing had been stolen. It appeared
that Priscilla may have known her killer. Later reports revealed
that her cell phone was missing. On the floor of
her bedroom was a Pride flag. Her freshly painted mint
(06:17):
walls now bore the stains of brutal violence. Had this
been a hate crime, had Priscilla been targeted for her identity?
It was a phone call. Priscilla's mother will never forget
the kind that cleaves a life into before and after
the most devastating news imaginable. The brightest light of the
(06:37):
family was gone, and nothing made sense. Just weeks earlier,
Priscilla had promised to take her little sister shopping during
her next visit home. The family's new reality was unfathomable.
An autopsy revealed that Priscilla had been stabbed multiple times
in the chest and arms, While the exact time of
(06:58):
death was difficult to detec German one neighbor told investigators
he had last seen her alive five days before the discovery.
The Richmond Hill neighborhood was shaken. That something so brutal
could happen right there behind closed doors, just upstairs was terrifying.
The tenants who lived in the apartment below Priscilla's moved
(07:22):
out shortly after the murder. A killer had entered their community,
and fear settled in. Security cameras were mounted on homes.
People locked their doors a little earlier, a little tighter.
With the holiday season underway, the usual joy and festivity
felt out of reach. Police launched an investigation, interviewing neighbors, friends,
(07:45):
co workers, and Priscilla's loved ones, but gathering evidence proved difficult.
Whoever had done this had gone to great lengths to
cover their tracks, pouring paint over Priscilla's body in a
chilling ate to destroy forensic clues. Some reports claimed that
Priscilla's dog had been killed alongside her, but District Attorney
(08:08):
Melinda Katz clarified that it appeared Gucci had crawled into
the tub and stayed by Priscilla's side, passing away a
few days later. Priscilla's funeral took place on Monday, December fourth,
two thousand and six, in Allentown, Pennsylvania, close to where
her family lived. She was laid to rest at Cedar
(08:29):
Hill Memorial Park, surrounded by relatives and friends who mourned
a life taken far too soon. Nearly nineteen years have passed,
and still no arrests have been made. Yet Priscilla's case
remains alive in the hearts of those who knew her,
and even in the hopes of those seeking justice. In
(08:49):
twenty twenty three, District Attorney Cats told NBC News that
advances in forensic technology offered renewed possibility for solving the crime.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
It was.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
There's a poignant twist of fate. Priscilla had been an
avid fan of forensic files and even considered studying forensic
science herself, and we're seeing it more and more cold
cases being solved with the help of that forensic technology.
In that same interview, Nancy Pimentel said she's forgiven whoever
(09:22):
stole her daughter's life. She prays for justice every day,
holding on to the belief that no one is beyond accountability.
Every Thanksgiving, Nancy still opens her home to family members
who can attend. They gather around the table, cook a
feast in Priscilla's honor, and share memories of her laughter,
(09:42):
her warmth, and the love she brought into their lives.
In the midst of grief. They keep her spirit alive.
Let's take a break. Priscilla's murder left behind a tale
(10:05):
of grief, unanswered questions, and a family forever changed. And
while her case remains officially unsolved, it raises deeper questions
about the world Priscilla lived in and about the violence
that continues to claim the lives of LGBTQ people across
the country. Because the truth is, what happened to Priscilla
(10:27):
wasn't an anomaly. It was part of a much larger,
deeply rooted history. June twenty first, nineteen seventy seven, San Francisco, California,
a gay man, thirty three year old Robert Hillsborough and
his friend, twenty seven year old Jerry Taylor, had just
left a club called oil Can Harry's, where they'd been
(10:49):
for a night of dancing. They stopped off for a
bite at Wizburger's in the Mission District and got into
a dispute with a group of young men who began
shouting anti gay slurs at them. In the driver's seat
of his brand new car, Robert sped away with Jerry
in the passenger seat next to him. Neither man realized
that the men were following behind them in another car. Robert,
(11:12):
a city gardener who loved classical music, parked about four
blocks from his apartment. He and Jerry got out of
the car and were immediately confronted by the same four men.
Jerry was beaten, but managed to run away, hopping over
an eight foot fence, yelling the f slur repeatedly. One
(11:33):
of the attackers stabbed Robert Hillsborough over and over. Even
after Robert had fallen to the ground, the attack continued.
The knife stabbed into his chest repeatedly and into his
face fifteen times. The knife went into his body. Robert
Hillsborough died forty five minutes later at the hospital, and
(11:54):
the four attackers were later arrested. The man who killed Robert,
nine teen year old John Cordova, was convicted of second
degree murder and served just ten years in prison. His accomplice,
twenty one year old Thomas Spooner, was later convicted of
assault but acquitted of the murder charge. The other two
(12:15):
men were never charged with anything. A witness to the
murder would later tell police that the killer yelled out,
this one's for Anita.
Speaker 2 (12:25):
Last year, Dade County voters overwhelmingly repealed an ordinance granting
special privileges to homosexuals. But the militant homosexuals don't take
no for an answer.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
This declaration was, of course, about Anita Bryant, a name
that comes up often in conversations about the modern revolution
of the LGBTQ community. Bryant, a former beauty pageant, contestant
and singer, is best known for her hate campaign against
the LGBTQ. In nineteen seventy seven, in Dade County, Florida,
(12:57):
an ordinance was passed prohibiting discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation. A Florida resident at the time, Anita Bryant,
then began the campaign to repeal the antidiscrimination ordinance, which
ended up being successful.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
When word that there was an ordinance in Miami that
that would allow known homosexuals to teach my children. God
help us as a nation to stand in these dark days.
There are many evil things that would claim under the
disguise of discrimination and under civil rights, would claim the
(13:37):
civil rights.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
Of our children.
Speaker 2 (13:39):
And I know that God has put a burden on
my heart and on Bob's and once all this messes
over with, we feel like God is leading us to
start a ministry to the homosexuals.
Speaker 1 (13:54):
She was insistent that homosexuals were getting special treatment by
not being discriminated against. Brian was adamant that homosexuality is
an abomination and that the laws of the land should
be in line with God's laws.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
According to the Word of God, it's an abomination to
practice homosexuality. And the same is true for like Archbishop
Carrol who took the stand that he would go to
jail rather than to hire known homosexuals into their schools,
and our pastor said that he would do the same
and would even burn the school rather than allow them
to be taught of homosexuals. And we feel as strongly.
Speaker 1 (14:33):
She said, quote, homosexuals cannot reproduce, so they must recruit,
and to freshen their ranks, they must recruit the youth
of America. Anita Bryant quickly became the punchline of late
night talk show host Johnny Carson as well as other comedians,
and the La Times called her the female Archie Bunker,
(14:53):
a living caricature of abrasive bigotry. Robert Hillsborough's mother, seventy
eight year old Hell, came to San Francisco and made
the following statement quote, now that my son's murder has happened,
I think about the Bryant campaign a lot. Anyone who
wants to carry on this kind of thing must be sick.
My son's blood is on her hands. Helen Hillsborough filed
(15:18):
a five million dollar lawsuit against Anita Bryant for her
Save the Children campaign, but it was dismissed by a judge. Sadly,
this homophobic rhetoric didn't dial along with Anita in December
of twenty twenty four, despite the progress that the gay
community has made in the years since Stonewall. Earlier this year,
a report by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of
(15:41):
Law found that LGBTQ people in the US are five
times more likely to experience violent victimization than non LGBTQ people.
Black LGBTQ people have the highest rates of victimization overall,
followed by Hispanic and white LGBTQ people. On April ninth
(16:02):
of this year, police were called to an elementary school
in Indianapolis after staff triggered a silent alarm. There was
a person on the premises who was in possession of
a firearm. Officers arrived at the school and confronted the woman,
forty eight year old Carrie Rivers. Rivers was there to
unenroll her sixth grade daughter and told police she didn't
(16:26):
realize she was carrying her firearm was holstered on her waist.
After removing the gun, police interviewed Rivers, whose staff members
said had been irate but since calmed down. Rivers told
the police she was surprised they were there to question
her when they should be questioning her daughter's teacher, whom
(16:46):
she referred to as a dyke bitch. The teacher is
an openly gay woman who displays a Pride flag in
her classroom. Rivers explained that she was taking her child
out of school and would teach her at home instead.
Rivers had become enraged upon learning that one of the
projects the sixth graders had been assigned was quote about
(17:06):
same sex relationships. The assignment in question was a flag
project where students identified different types of flags, one of
them a Pride flag. When Rivers confronted the teacher and
expressed her concerns that she was pushing an agenda, the
teacher excused River's daughter from the assignment. Still, Carrie Rivers
(17:29):
entered the school eager to confront the teacher and the administration.
After police questioned her at the school, she was free
to return home. That same day, she began drafting an email.
The message that Rivers allegedly sent to her daughter's teacher
was filled with spelling, engrammatical errors, and said, in part, hey,
(17:51):
thanks for giving my daughter a real taste of bad
teachers and how messed up this world is coming to.
I will not punish you. God will condemn you to hell,
not only for your personal beliefs, but for the fact
that you use your position to mess with the minds
of our children. You are a sick individual. I have
every right to be angry because you're a child predator
(18:13):
and your only hope is your bitch ass wife that
is a cop. Otherwise someone else would already dealt with
you for your wrongs. Please say your prayers and kiss
your kids goodbye. You never know when God says it's
our time, so always be prepared. That same day, she
also sent the teacher a Facebook friend request and sent
(18:34):
a hateful note via Facebook messenger. It's said, in part
child predator, sick, nasty teacher, you should never tell precious
innocent kids that it's okay to be in same sex relationships.
The teacher called the police to report the messages and
said she wasn't comfortable returning to work. Carrie Rivers was
(18:57):
arrested on April tenth and charged with missus demeanor harassment
and felony possession of a firearm on school property. Hearing
stories like the ones discussed today can be discouraging that,
even fifty six years after Stonewall, fear can so quickly
(19:19):
turn into aggression. Something as simple as a classroom discussion
about flags and inclusivity could lead to a parent showing
up with a gun. But it's also a reminder of
why these conversations matter, of why representation matters. That every
time a person says, stop pushing your sexuality in my face,
for every Anita Bryant that pops up on the scene.
(19:41):
We're reminded that erasure is not an option and that
there's still a lot of work to be done. The
violence faced by LGBTQ people past and present didn't begin
with one person, and it won't end with one law
or one pride month. To support the lgb ATQ community,
consider donating to the Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention
(20:05):
and crisis intervention nonprofit org for LGBTQ plus young people.
More information is in the show notes. If you have
any information about the murder of Priscilla Pimantel, you can
submit a tip by calling one eight hundred five seven
seven tips or visit crimestoppers dot NYPD online dot org.
(20:29):
Tips are confidential. Thank you so much for listening. Method
and Madness is a completely independent podcast, written, produced and
hosted by me. To find out more about the show,
including access to all episodes, visit Method and Madness podcast
(20:51):
dot com. To support the show, consider leaving a rating
or a review, and to connect. I'm on Instagram at
Method and Madness Pod, and you can find me on
tik tok and Facebook as well to chat, suggest a case,
or discuss the episode. Reach out to me at Methodamadness
Pod at gmail dot com. That's it for this week.
(21:13):
Until next time, take care of yourself. You matter. For
Christ's support, text hello to seven four one seven for
one
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