Ode to Joy: We Remember the Life of Durval Martins
By Lee McDaniel
To the person who shot & murdered former RI resident & resident club kid & socialite Durval Martins:
I knew Durval Martins. Durval Martins was a friend of mine. Killer, you are no Durval Martins. You can’t be. You are a murderous, cold-blooded coward. Durval was a sweet, fun, and loving spirit. Shame on you, you bastard, for taking Durval away from us.
To Durval’s friends here in Rhode Island & elsewhere:
We will miss Durval. I knew him to be kind, considerate, thoughtful, & funny. Durval liked to dance, go out, experience life & new adventures, & have drinks with friends. Unfortunately, he was taken from us on December 16, 2008, by a murderous gun-shot wound as he was walking home from a night out with friends in the Dupont Circle section of Washington, DC. The police to this day have no solid leads, despite a $25,000 reward that was eventually doubled to $50,000. No solid leads after intense community involvement, pleas from his family, and a major vigil that even was attended by police detectives. His was the 2nd murder within 4 months of each other, occurring with 4-5 blocks of each other in the same DC neighborhood. Police and newspaper reports indicate that this was not a robbery or other crime gone awry, because, evidently, Durval’s wallet, cash, & phone was still on his person.
Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence, (GLOV), a community group formed after these murders, held a candlelight vigil in mid-May 2009, but still has made no real progress in assisting the police in solving this and the other murders. Many claim that these are hate-crimes and are urging the mayor’s office and the detectives to investigate them as such. So far, because there is so little evidence, they have not yet been classified as such.
I’ve contacted some of Durval’s local Rhode Island, friends, as well as his twin gay brother, Pedro. The consensus is astonishing: Durval was such a sweet soul with a wide open heart. Durval and his twin brother Pedro moved to Pawtucket, RI, in the summer of 1988 – they could barely speak English at the time. They graduated from public schools, worked in restaurants and other places, and became active in the downtown club scene and in the international student scene, which is where I met them. My roommate Xenophon Kyriazis, then a RISD grad student, introduced me to the Durval and Pedro in the mid-90’s. Durval and I hit it off right away, and spent many nights at Brown & RISD parties and at the downtown clubs. He was my guest at many Brown events, including Brown International Organization’s annual soire downtown. One year, we shared a table and stories with the Chancellor of Brown, who remarked what an indomitable spirit Durval had. This is how I always will remember him.
Pedro told me that he envied Durval for “just being able to pick up and go on new adventures where he made new friends and memories all over the world.” Others told me that he was “always willing to give a helping hand to a stranger or friend in need.” Durval’s smile matched his spirit: big, bright, and bold. Durval embraced people where they were. He didn’t ask them to change, but grew with them, wherever that may have lead.
In July 2009, Pedro spent his first birthday without his beloved twin. I wish I could have been in DC in July to share that birthday, WITH Pedro, FOR Durval. Maybe I will do so next year. On August 15th, 2009, I hosted a memorial event & toast for Durval at a private home in Rhode Island. We toasted to free spirits and to new friends. If you were there, you knew it was just as Durval would have enjoyed. If you missed it, please know that Durval was there with us, in spirit and in our hearts. Durval, we love you still.
If you want to honor Durval’s life, please make a donation in his name to Marriage Equality RI (MERI). You can find them online or on facebook.
Lee McDaniel is a freelance journalist and columnist, based in Missouri and Providence, whose works have appeared in Options, Providence Monthly, Divine Providence, The Brown Daily Herald, The College Hill Independent, and The Joplin Globe. He can be reached at leemcd@alumni.brown.edu
LINK to Dec 2009 article about another murder and Durval:http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=4760
LINK to Dec 2008 article about Durval's murder:
http://www.metroweekly.com/news/?ak=3965
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