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Troubled, Gay, and Murdered in Junior High

Teachers split over flamboyant student who was killed in Calif. class

By Kate Rockwood,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 21, 2008 6:09 PM CDT

(Newser) – A flamboyant cross-dresser, 14-year-old Lawrence King was killed in his Los Angeles school by a boy he loved. The murder trial starts this week, but analysts are debating another question: Whether King's death could have been avoided. Newsweek goes behind the scenes, looking at King's troubled upbringing, the teachers who argued his case, and the student who ultimately killed him.

Some teachers wanted to clamp down on King for flirting openly with boys at school. Others, including a lesbian assistant principal, supported him; one even gave him a dress as a gift. But most agree that the school failed King, and even his alleged killer—and that US middle schools are ill-prepared for students who identify as gay at an increasingly young age.

Students pass by a makeshift memorial honoring fifteen-year-old Lawrence King, who was declared brain dead after being shot in the head in class by a fellow student on Tuesday, February 12, 2008.
Students pass by a makeshift memorial honoring fifteen-year-old Lawrence King, who was declared brain dead after being shot in the head in class by a fellow student on Tuesday, February 12, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Kynt Cothron, left, and Vyxsin Fiala, right, hold a vigil for Lawrence King, 15, an Oxnard student who was declared brain dead on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, in West Los Angeles.
Kynt Cothron, left, and Vyxsin Fiala, right, hold a vigil for Lawrence King, 15, an Oxnard student who was declared brain dead on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, in West Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
A student places a flower at a makeshift memorial honoring 15-year-old Lawrence King at E.O. Green School Thursday, February 14, 2008 in Oxnard, Calif.
A student places a flower at a makeshift memorial honoring 15-year-old Lawrence King at E.O. Green School Thursday, February 14, 2008 in Oxnard, Calif.   (AP Photo)
Students gather around a makeshift memorial at E.O. Green middle school, honoring slain school student Lawrence King, 15, in this Feb. 14, 2008 file photo, in Oxnard, Calif.
Students gather around a makeshift memorial at E.O. Green middle school, honoring slain school student Lawrence King, 15, in this Feb. 14, 2008 file photo, in Oxnard, Calif.   (AP Photo)
Vyxsin Fiala, right, and Vincent Ponce-Ortiz attend a vigil for Lawrence King on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, in West Los Angeles, Calif.
Vyxsin Fiala, right, and Vincent Ponce-Ortiz attend a vigil for Lawrence King on Wednesday, March 26, 2008, in West Los Angeles, Calif.   (AP Photo)
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