Shenandoah Valley Friends
Reprinted from: The Washington Blade
Friday, December 6, 1996
Richmond Lesbian Murdered
Police won't rule out Gay-bashing as a posible motive
by Lou Chibbaro Jr.
| Police have refused to disclose whether or not victim had been sexually assaulted. |
Police in Richmond, Virginia, say they have not ruled out Gay-bashing as a possible motive in the murder of a Lesbian attorney who was found November 4 bound to a chair in a downtown Richmond office building with her throat slashed.
Police said they found the body of Leslie Anne Coughenour, 44, at about 3:35 a.m. Monday, Nov. 4, in a second floor office at Carpenter & Woodward, the law firm where she had worked for the past year.
Carol Woodward, a partner with the law firm, said another one of the firm's partners escorted two police officers into the firm's two-story brick building at about 3:30 a.m. on Nov. 4 to check on Coughenour's whereabouts. Woodward said Coughenour's roommate had contacted the firm's partner at home through a mutual friend to report that Coughenour went to her office at about noon the previous day and never returned home.
Woodward said the two police officers discovered Coughenour's body in a second-floor office that belonged to another staff member. She said no one from the firm saw the body and that officials at the firm have learned more details about the murder from the press than from police.
Woodward said police sealed the entire building for 24 hours while they searched for physical evidence, including fingerprints.
Richmond police announced on Nov. 13 that Coughenour's friends and family members have offered a reward of up to $10,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Coughenour's death.
Woodward said two laptop computers and a portable radio were discovered missing from the law firm's offices. She she police found no signs of a forced entry into the office building.
"We have no idea how this could have happened," Woodward said.
Lisa Beadles, a spokesperson for the Richmond Police Department, confirmed that police found no evidence of a forced entry. She said that, although property was reported missing from the law firm, police are not ready to announce a motive for the murder. Beadles said investigators have not ruled out any scenario, including the possibility that someone killed Coughenour out of hatred for Gay people.
But Beadles said detectives assigned to the case have decided to withhold virtually all other information at the present time. She said detectives have chosen not to officially disclose the cause of Coughenour's death or the type of weapon used to kill her, despite the fact that the Richmond Times-Dispatch and local television stations have reported Coughenour's throat had been slashed.
Police have refused to disclose whether or not Coughenour had been sexually assaulted.
On Wednesday, a law enforcement source familiar with the case, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said there was "nothing inaccurate" in the press reports that Coughenour was found bound to a chair with her throat slashed and her head covered.
Woodward said that Coughenour "didn't hide the fact that she was Gay," but that "she didn't broadcast it either."
Shirley Lesser, an official with Virginians for Justice, a statewide Gay civil rights group, said several women who knew Coughenour telephoned the group following the report of her murder to let the group know that Coughenour was a Lesbian. Lesser said the women urged Virginians for Justice to "keep on top of the case" to determine whether the murder was a Gay-bashing.
"We are keeping on top of it," said Lesser. "The police tell us they are looking into all possibilities."
Woodward said Coughenour specialized in employment law and worked, among other things, on cases involving sexual harassment and discrimination. She described Coughenour as a friendly, gregarious person who was well liked at the firm.
Woodward said she and others at the firm have no knowledge of anyone acting in a hostile manner toward Coughenour because of her sexual orientation. Woodward noted that Coughenour participated briefly in a workshop the firm offered last year to members of the Gay community on such topics as wills and family law. But she said Coughenour did not organize the workshop and did not specialize in Gay-related cases.
The Times-Dispatch reported that Coughenour was raised in Pittsburgh and moved to Richmond 14 years ago, when she took a job as director of training services for the Commonwealth Girl Scout Council of Virginia. She graduated from the University of Richmond Law School in 1992 and began practicing law with another firm before joining Carpenter & Woodward.
Police are calling on anyone with information about the case or anyone who may have seen Coughenour between noon on Sunday, Nov. 3, and 3:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 4 -- in the vicinity of her office, at 400 West Franklin St. in Richmond -- to call Richmond homicide detectives James Hickman or Thomas Leonard at (804) 780-6741.
Copyright © 1996 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community.