Mickey Harmon and Jordan Celotto, a gay couple known for art and activism, were killed in their Buffalo, N.Y., home this week, and a suspect has been charged with murder.
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Harmon, 40, and Celotto, 37, were found dead Tuesday in their home in the city’s Allentown neighborhood, local media outlets report. The cause of death was blunt force trauma, blows to the head, according to court documents viewed by the Buffalo News.
Police found them in the late afternoon after receiving a call about a man with a knife outside their home. The man, 34-year-old Bryan Monge Chiclana, was taken to a hospital after cutting himself, and Friday afternoon he was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, the Buffalo News reports. Police said he did not know the victims, and they do not believe the crime was bias-motivated. He appeared in Buffalo City Court, entered a plea of not guilty, and was ordered to be held without bond. The first-degree murder charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison with no possibility of parole.
Police said Monge Chiclana broke into a basement window at the victims' home, and he had tried to break into cars and other homes in their neighborhood. Harmon's and Celotto's bodies were found in the basement, and police estimated they were killed about 8 a.m., eight hours before their remains were discovered.
“As district council member and as a member of the LGBTQ community, there is nothing that suspects that this was a hate crime,” Buffalo City Council Member Mitch Nowakowski told local station WVIB. “I want to put those tensions at ease.”
Harmon was co-owner of the Good Stuff, an art gallery and gift shop in Buffalo. Celotto worked at the Remedy House café and DJ’d at the bar Twenty Six Allen, with Harmon always dancing nearby.
“Harmon was known for his drawings of historic Buffalo homes and landmarks, as well as murals with LGBTQ themes and themes of giving,” WVIB reports. Celotto was also an artist. Their friends and colleagues are remembering them fondly.
“I am heartbroken by the passing of our friend and constituent, Mickey,” Nowakowski wrote on Instagram. “A proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, an artist, and a passionate Allentown resident, Mickey left a lasting impact on our neighborhood and city.
“He and his partner, Jordan, were urbanists at heart — walking, biking, and championing preservation all the time. Mickey believed in a more beautiful, connected, and livable Buffalo, and he lived that out with every fiber of his soul. Whether through art, advocacy, or simply showing up, he made this community better.” He would often attend protests or press conferences Nowakowski organized.
Nowakowksi told TV station WGRZ the two men were not only his constituents but his friends. “I refuse to allow Mickey and Jordan's memory to be attached to these heinous crimes,” he added. “I want everybody to know that these people were artists, were people of the Allentown community who made it better, who made things happen, who worked with me ever since I got into office. When you look and see Allentown, its vibrancy, its festivals, its artwork, think of them because that is who they are. They do not deserve to have their legacy attached with the heinous crime that happened.”
“Jordan was gentle. He was kind. He was funny. He was an artist and a friend to everyone he came in contact with,” said an Instagram post from Remedy House.
“He helped me pull 50 pounds of chicken wing meat when I ordered the wrong case the night before we reopened last April. He’d collect books from the local library stands and give them as gifts to us in the middle of our shifts. We would talk coffee and music and food and life. I am better for knowing him. There are no words. Thank you for everything, Jordan. We love you.”
“We join the entire Western New York community as we mourn the tragic deaths of Mickey Harmon and Jordan Celotto,” said a post from the Pride Center of Western New York. “Innovators, community organizers, artists, collaborators and, most importantly, our friends. Mickey and Jordan touched the lives of so many and the impact they had in the queer community is immeasurable. They simply made the Buffalo, and specifically the Allentown community, where they called home, a better place for everyone. We extend our deepest condolences to Mickey’s and Jordan’s families and loved ones.”
Friends and family gathered Wednesday night at Twenty Six Allen to remember the men. “We were hoping that this place felt like home to [them],” Zack Berbary, co-owner of the bar and a friend of the men, told WGRZ. “It's just a massive loss. I've been trying to hold back tears all day today.”
Harmon had been promoting an LGBTQ+ music and poetry event, Queertopia, at another bar in the neighborhood, Nietzsche’s, WKBW reports. Now the event will go on Saturday as “a night of remembrance and celebration” of the couple, co-creator Scott Rankie wrote on Facebook. It will begin at 8 p.m., and there will be no cover charge.
GoFundMe campaigns have been set up to cover funeral expenses for Harmon and Celotto.
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