Last March, after the body of 25-year-old Polk County resident Ryan Skipper was discovered on a Wahneta roadside, stabbed 20 times and sliced across the throat, friends and family were surprised by the local media's portrayal of the upbeat student. Based on information supplied by the county sheriff's office, reports suggested that Skipper had smoked pot, plotted a check fraud scheme, and cruised for casual sex the night of the murder — not true according to the people who knew him — while downplaying the fact that the two murder suspects sought Skipper out because he was gay. (Perhaps as a result, the crime received little in the way of national media attention.) On Sunday, American Stage hosts a screening of the documentary, Accessory to Murder: Our Culture's Complicity in the Death of Ryan Skipper, which examines Skipper's life and death via interviews with friends, family and gay rights activists. A panel discussion with Skipper's family is held after the screening. Admission is free, and donations benefit the Ryan Skipper Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the acceptance of diversity. Sun., June 1, 6:30 p.m., 211 Third St. S., St. Petersburg, 727-823-7529, americanstage.org.
This article appears in May 28 – Jun 3, 2008.