Anti-gay motive believed in Fairfax man's death
The Associated Press
Last Updated 6:20 p.m. PDT Thursday, July 17, 2003
QUINCY, Calif. (AP) - A Fairfax man beaten to death here last weekend may have been killed because his alleged assailants thought he was gay, authorities told a Marin County newspaper.

During a two-day court hearing in this small Northern California town, two Plumas County men were charged with the beating and strangulation death of Marc Oldham. The Marin County resident was killed Sunday while vacationing at Bucks Lake, about 150 miles north of Sacramento.

Kevin Glen Rikard, 21, of Quincy pleaded innocent Thursday to the charges. Rikard and Johnathan Grant Appley, 21, also of Quincy, are accused of clubbing Oldham with a tree limb and strangling him because they allegedly thought he was gay. Appley didn't enter a plea.

A third defendant, 21-year-old Jesse William Rath of Cromberg, pleaded innocent to an accessory to murder charge.

While Oldham's family and friends say he was heterosexual, Plumas County Deputy District Attorney David Hollister said prosecutors have reason to believe the trio thought Oldham, 37, was gay, the Marin Independent Journal reported Thursday. Hollister wouldn't provide evidence to support that claim.

Appley and Rickard are also accused of robbery, a special circumstance charge that could carry the death penalty if tied to a murder conviction. Rath faces up to three years in prison if convicted.

It's unclear if Oldham knew his assailants before he was killed, but witnesses told authorities the group was seen together at a local bar that night, Hollister said.

Appley and Rikard were being held Thursday without bail in the Plumas County jail. Rath's bail was set at $50,000. All three men are set to appear back in court Aug. 13, when Appley is expected to enter a plea.