Man charged with killing gay teen in P.R.

CAYEY, Nov. 18 (UPI) -- The suspect in the slaying of a gay teenager who was decapitated and dismembered in Puerto Rico was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder, officials said.

Juan A. Martinez Matos, 26, was arrested Monday in the slaying of Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, whose partially burned body was found Friday in central Puerto Rico, CNN reported.

Some gays in the United States called on authorities to investigate whether the killing was a hate crime.

"The brutality of the slaying and the fact that (Lopez) was openly gay leads us to believe it was very possibly a hate crime," said Pedro Julio Serrano of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Prosecutors were deciding whether to recommend Martinez be charged under federal hate-crimes laws.

"It's at a very preliminary stage," Lymarie Llovet, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in San Juan said. "There's the potential for a federal investigation."

Gays in the United States started a Facebook page called "Justice for Jorge Steven Lopez -- End Hate Crimes" and are urging Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno to investigate.

Martinez, who was arrested at his home in Cayey, also was charged with weapons violations and hiding evidence, prosecutor Yaritza Carrasquillo said.

CNN cited Telemundo and other local reports saying Martinez had told authorities he had picked up Lopez on the street, thinking he was a woman. When he realized Lopez was a man, the reports said, he flashed back to an incident when he was sexually assaulted in prison, and a conflict between the two led to Lopez's death.