Acquaintance Charged With Murder of Texas Gay Man

James David Brown, the accused killer of Marc Pourner and reportedly the best friend of Pourner's boyfriend, was arrested in Indiana Tuesday night.

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

November 19 2015 1:33 PM EST

November 19 2015 4:46 PM EST

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A suspect has been charged with the murder of a Houston-area gay man, and he's reportedly the best friend of the victim's boyfriend.

Sheriff's deputies in Tippecanoe County, Ind., arrested David James Brown (above, right), 22, Tuesday night, reports the Lafayette Journal & Courier, an Indiana newspaper. They had received a tip that he might be hiding out in a home in a rural part of the county, and they followed him from that house to the town of Delphi, where he was arrested in a CVS parking lot.

A warrant from Montgomery County, Texas, charges Brown with capital murder in the death of Marc Pourner (above, left), 28. Pourner's body was found near his burned-out truck southeast of Conroe, Texas, over the weekend. Pourner had reportedly been bound and gagged, and there were signs of blunt force trauma to his head.

Pourner's father said Brown was the best friend of his son's boyfriend, Houston TV station KTRK reports. Pourner's family and friends have said he was an open and generous man, and that may have led to people -- perhaps including the suspect -- taking advantage of him. They also believe he was targeted for being gay.

"We didn't need to suspect," Pourner's father, Mark, told the station. "We had information that told us exactly what happened when the incident occurred."

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Pourner's family members plan to establish a scholarship fund in his memory to assist LGBT students. Family and friends held a candlelight vigil Wednesday night to remember him; watch coverage below.