Family Says Bullying Led to Gay Wyoming Man's Suicide

Trevor O'Brien

Trevor O'Brien was found dead Tuesday night in a park in Gillette, Wyo.

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

March 12 2016 4:30 AM EST

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A gay Native American man has been found dead in Wyoming, in an apparent suicide after he reportedly endured years of bullying.

Trevor O'Brien, 20, was found dead about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in a park in Gillette, Wyo., the Gillette News Record reports. Gillette Police Department officers said O'Brien took his own life, although the local coroner has yet to issue a verdict. No other information on the circumstances of his death has been released.

Police said they're investigating reports of homophobic harassment directed at O'Brien, who had previously reported that his car was defaced with an antigay slur in 2012. "They put a disparaging word commonly used for homosexuals on the car," Lt. Chuck Deaton told the News Record.

O'Brien posted a picture of the car to Facebook in December:

Thank you to whoever egged and chalked my car. I've always wanted a decal on the side of my car.
Posted by Trevor O'Brien on Monday, December 28, 2015

Other posts from O'Brien deal with mistreatment he suffered for being gay, and one photo shows him with scratches on his face, apparently from a fight, reports Billings, Mont., TV station KTVQ. Family members told the station that O'Brien "felt he had no one to turn to for help."

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LGBT youth (ages 24 and younger) who are considering suicide can reach the Trevor Project Lifeline at (866) 488-7386. If you are a trans or gender-nonconforming person considering suicide, Trans Lifeline can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 can also be reached 24 hours a day by people of all ages and identities.