Buffalo, N.Y., community mourns beloved gay couple killed in double homicide
Mickey Harmon and Jordan Celotto, who were well-known local artists and LGBTQ advocates, were found dead in their Buffalo, New York, home Tuesday.
A couple who were beloved local artists and LGBTQ advocates were found dead in their Buffalo, New York, home Tuesday, sparking local memorials and dozens of online tributes.
The Buffalo Police Department is investigating the deaths of Mickey Harmon, 40, and Jordan Celotto, 37, as a double homicide, Buffalo Mayor Christopher Scanlon said during a news conference Wednesday. There is no indication that the homicides were a hate crime, police said.
A friend went to the couple’s home Tuesday afternoon after one of them didn’t show up for work, police said. The friend called 911 and said he saw a man holding a knife, according to a police report. When police arrived at the home around 4:22 p.m., they found both Harmon and Celotto dead, the report states.
The man with a knife cut himself and dropped the knife when officers arrived, police said Wednesday, adding that the man is currently being treated at the Erie County Medical Center. Police said he did not appear to know the victims.
On Friday, police arrested Bryan Monge Chiclana, 34, on one count of first-degree murder and two counts of second-degree murder, according to the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. The DA’s office alleges that Chiclana unlawfully entered Harmon and Celotto’s home Tuesday morning through a basement window and hit them with an object. Both victims died of blunt force trauma, the Erie County Medical Examiner’s office found. Chiclana was arraigned Friday and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole.
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