Maryland Gov. Wes Moore spoke about the difference between liberation and freedom, in the opening ceremony of the 2026 Scotland Juneteenth Heritage Festival, in one of Montgomery County’s oldest historic Black communities.

In Cabin John Regional Park, Moore was joined by local dignitaries, including descendants of William Dove, the first formerly enslaved man who purchased 36 acres of farmland in 1880 for $210, located in what is now Potomac.

Moore said that ending slavery was an important moment of liberation, celebrated by Juneteenth, “but liberation is not freedom.”

Even after liberation, Moore said that “the idea of freedom became something that still remained elusive.”

When Dove purchased property in the Scotland community, Moore said that economic empowerment was a step toward freedom.

“The freedom to be able to own more than you owe. A freedom to be able to pass something along to your children besides debt. A freedom to be able to walk freely, knowing that you should be able to feel safe in your own community, in your own neighborhood, and in your own skin,” said Moore.

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The National Park Service erected heavy steel security fencing around Dupont Circle on Friday morning, closing it to the public ahead of this weekend鈥檚 marquee Capital Pride festivities.

In a public announcement, the Park Service said, 鈥淭he park area will be closed to the public to provide for public health and safety and protect natural and cultural resources in Dupont Circle Park.鈥�

Historically, D.C.鈥檚 gay pride movement was nurtured in Dupont Circle, and early Pride events were held at the Circle, located along Connecticut Avenue NW.

The annual Pride parade, which will be held Saturday, no longer passes Dupont Circle, and Sunday鈥檚 Pride Festival is held along Pennsylvania Avenue.

The National Park Service said Dupont Circle will be closed through Sunday at 6 p.m.

Last year the security fencing was also installed but later removed after community pressure. There was isolated violence in the vicinity last year, although it鈥檚 unclear whether it was connected to the Pride event.

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The National Park Service erected heavy steel security fencing around Dupont Circle on Friday morning, closing the park to the public ahead of this weekend鈥檚 Capital Pride events.

“The park area will be closed to the public to provide for public health and safety and protect natural and cultural resources in Dupont Circle Park,鈥� the National Park Service said.

Dupont Circle has long held significance in D.C.鈥檚 LGBTQ+ community. The city鈥檚 gay pride movement was nurtured in the neighborhood, and early Pride festivals were held at the circle along Connecticut Avenue northwest.

While the annual Pride parade is scheduled for Saturday, it no longer passes through Dupont Circle. Sunday鈥檚 Pride Festival will take place along Pennsylvania Avenue.

The National Park Service said Dupont Circle will remain closed through Sunday at 6 p.m.

The park was also fenced off during Pride celebrations last year. The barriers were later removed following community pressure. Isolated violence was reported in the area during last year鈥檚 festivities, though it remains unclear whether those incidents were connected to the Pride event.

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Dozens of registered nurses, doctors and maternal care advocates protested the planned closure of a postpartum unit at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, the largest hospital in the District.

“Closing these 11 postpartum beds will directly affect these new parents and their babies during an incredibly vulnerable time,” registered nurse Kiersten Lally with D.C. Nurses Association said at the Thursday rally.

“Postpartum units are a space where patients spend a few days after giving birth to heal, recover and learn how to care for themselves and their baby,” Lally said. “Shortening their stay or forcing them to choose a new hospital to deliver at will certainly create worse outcomes in an already vulnerable patient population.”

One in three of all children born in D.C. are born at Washington Hospital Center. Between 2000 and 2018 all obstetric programs were shuttered, leaving none in Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8.

MedStar Washington Hospital Center and Howard University Hospital have been the only options for delivery for residents in the eastern half of the District, until the recent opening of Cedar Hill Regional Medical Center.

In a statement, MedStar Washington Hospital Center said declining birth rates in the District and financial pressures will prompt the consolidation of its postpartum services.

The closure of 11 beds in Unit 5F will leave 18 postpartum beds available in the hospital, “which are more than sufficient to safely and fully meet the needs of the patients we serve today and into the foreseeable future,” the hospital said in a statement.

Dr. Aza Nedhari said the patients she serves as president and CEO of Mamatoto Village 鈥� a nonprofit offering pregnancy and postpartum services 鈥� “deserve a hospital that expands to meet them, and not one that quietly contracts when they’re not looking.”

Nedhari made a request of MedStar Washington Hospital Center: “Keep what you already have before you build anything new, before the next initiative, before the next research study 鈥� keep the beds that are already serving mothers open.”

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The National Park Service says there have been recent reports of severe sickness along the 101-mile Appalachian Trail, and the suspected cause is norovirus.

Because the virus spreads easily, the Park Service is urging visitors and hikers to take precautions to protect themselves and others.

First, treat all water, since most water filters do not remove viruses. The Park Service says boiling water for at least one minute is the most reliable way to kill germs.

Remember to wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. The NPS says hand sanitizer doesn’t work very well against norovirus.

Don’t share food, water or other personal items, since the highly contagious norovirus can be spread on surfaces.

To properly dispose of waste, according to the Park Service, “bury poop at least 8 inches deep and 200 feet from water sources, campsites and trails. Wipe down privy handles, bear boxes and other touch spots with bleach wipes before using.”

If you have symptoms, try to avoid contact with others, including tenting alone if possible and getting single rooms at hostels and hotels.

To report cases of norovirus, email publichealthprograms@nps.gov.

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Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger signed a bill defining agrivoltaics in Loudoun County Wednesday morning, at the Piedmont Environmental Council’s Community Farm at Roundabout Meadows in Aldie.

“Agrivoltaics is simple, you put solar panels on farmland in a way that keeps that land in production,” Spanberger said. “The farmer gets supplemental income and lower energy costs, the grid gets clean power, and nobody has to choose between feeding people and powering communities.”

State Delegate John McAuliff, whose 30th District includes Loudoun and Fauquier Counties, co-sponsored the bill with State Senator Russett Perry, said agrivoltaics provides an alternative to the “either/or” decision that farmers face, when offered the chance to sell their land to an electric company interested in installing solar arrays.

“We’re losing farms here. Far too often, agricultural land is sold for development, or for uses that threaten to take it out of production entirely,” McAuliff told the crowd, sitting on folding chairs near crops that were grown near dozens of solar panels, some of which provided much-needed shade.

“This trend not just threatens individual farms, but the long term future of agriculture in our region,” said McAuliff.

Until now, Virginia has lacked an official definition of agrivoltaics.

The bill, which Spanberger signed into law, defines agrivoltaics as sola energy development that:

• Prioritizes and sustains agricultural production
• Ensures land remains in active farm use
• Allows for the continued sale of agricultural projects on existing farm business
• Maintains flexibility for farmers over time

“Agrivoltaics prioritizes agricultural productivity, keeps land in production for the life of the solar array, and is part of an existing farm business,” said Spanberger.

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came to the D.C. area two decades ago, and started working on the metro desk at the Washington Times.

“I remember seeing you and other reporters including Mark Segraves (of NBC 4) chasing (former Council Chair) Linda Cropp and (Mayor) Tony Wilson all around the Wilson Building,” Mack recalled to me this week.

Back then, I knew Jamie as Jim 鈥� one of the best investigative reporters in the area.

“I got into journalism to do some good and to shake up the world,” said Mack. “It seemed like the metrics for success changed 鈥� there was so much emphasis on driving web traffic and finding stories that would get a lot of clicks, and I was a part of that.”

At the time, Mack was struggling with drinking and started to see a gender therapist.

“I was living one life in the closet, and then I was living one life in public,” Mack said. “It’s hard enough to live one life. To live two is impossible.”

Dissatisfied with journalism, Mack began working as a private investigator, for a mid-sized firm in D.C. “I did everything from employment law to capital murder cases to traffic accidents.”

Inspired by a seriously ill friend who was determined to live his life to the fullest, Mack realized some changes needed to be made.

“It’s funny talking to you today, because today is my sobriety date,” Mack said. “It was five years ago today that I quit drinking.”

‘There was nothing wrong with me; The problem was theirs’

After quitting drinking, Mack came out as transgender.

“I decided to get a job at a grocery store, and for the first time in my life put Jamie and ‘they/them’ on my name tag,” they said. “People would come up to my register and they would see my pronouns there and get it wrong a little too loud, and a little too often, for me to think it was a mistake.”

Mack’s coworkers accepted them. “I met so many people who were just so incredibly kind to me, and connected with me, and I found so much support, especially among young people.”

The acceptance empowered them.

“I learned to hold my name tag up, and I would say, ‘You can just call me Jamie,'” they said. “It was such an instructive experience for me because it taught me there was nothing wrong with me, the problem was theirs.”

Life as an out nightclub comedian: ‘I’m proud of who I am’

Mack’s nightclub act includes observations of all of their personal transformations.

“I was so worried when I first came out that other trans and queer people and members of the LGBT community would look at me and say, ‘what took you so long,’ Mack said. “The only thing anybody has ever said to me is ‘Welcome, we’re glad you’re here.'”

From their vantage point on stage, “My experience in comedy, playing everything from queer rooms to more conservative rooms in rural areas has taught me that we are not nearly as screwed up as a country, and divided as the people in power and the people in the media would have us believe.”

“I’m proud of who I am, and I’m proud of the selflessness and love of so many people who have seen the best in me.”

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With a growing number of complaints about young people riding e-bikes dangerously, the Northern Virginia sheriff’s office has launched a safety program that includes a way for neighbors to submit.

According to the agency, complaints will be reviewed by a sheriff’s supervisor and routed to a school resource officer, abbreviated SRO, during the summer months for follow-up. In Loudoun County, school resource officers are employed by the sheriff’s office.

The complaint form allows a resident to report the date, time and location of the risky activity, and upload photos or videos if they have them. Complaints can be lodged anonymously.

When a complaint identifies a specific young person or home address, “A SRO will attempt to make direct contact with the parent or guardian for a brief educational conversation 鈥� reviewing providing e-bike safety resources, and ensuring that parents and guardians are aware of the community’s concern,” according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

In a 91欧美激情 interview earlier this month, Chapman called on parents to make sure their children are being safe on e-bikes.

In announcing this new initiative, Chapman said, “Our goal is not to punish, but rather to ensure that riders and their parents understand Virginia’s laws and make well-informed decisions when purchasing and operating e-bikes on our roads.”

When a complaint describes recurring dangerous activity at a specific location and time, but the riders are unknown, the sheriff’s office said it will increase its presence in that area.

Chapman said the SROs have built a strong relationship with young people and their families.

“Putting SROs on the front end of this issue 鈥� knocking on doors, talking to kids, connecting with parents 鈥� is exactly the kind of proactive, prevention-focused work they do best,” Chapman wrote in a news release. “We would rather have that conversation up front than after responding to a serious injury.”

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Crews began work Monday to rehabilitate a deteriorating 1,700-foot stretch of the regional Potomac Interceptor sewer line.

Last week, D.C. Water announced that inspections determined a portion of the Interceptor, located near Lock 22 on the C&O Canal, in Potomac, Maryland, was significantly corroded and had exposed and missing rebar inside the pipe.

Monday morning crews began laying what will be temporary overground bypass system to carry the Interceptor鈥檚 wastewater around the work site, while the compromised pipe is being replaced. A spill near the location of the emergency work could threaten much of the local drinking water supply.

The January 2026 collapse of the Interceptor along the Clara Barton Parkway, which spilled more than 240 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River, happened downstream of the drinking water intakes for all three local water suppliers 鈥� Washington Aqueduct, WSSC Water and Fairfax Water

However, if a spill occurred near Lock 22, that would jeopardize the drinking water intakes for WSSC Water and Washington Aqueduct. Fairfax Water鈥檚 intake is farther up river, and would not be affected.

D.C. Water expects the emergency work to last through September.

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鈥淭he entire Washington metropolitan region 鈥� that鈥檚 over 5 million people 鈥� we rely primarily on a single source, and that鈥檚 the Potomac River for drinking water,鈥� said Dr. Priscilla To, WSSC Water鈥檚 director of operational reliability and resilience.

“We are currently still working out the details of that cost-sharing agreement, but at the same time, even as we look for other sources of funding for the study, we are also recognizing that it’s very important to have regional support for the funding of an eventual solution, which will be a much bigger investment,” To said.

A water system designed for the entire DC region

Currently, the D.C. region has limited backup capacity 鈥� in some cases just about a day鈥檚 worth of water if the Potomac River were suddenly unavailable 鈥� underscoring the importance of long-term planning.

鈥淎s the regional water suppliers, we recognize that there鈥檚 a need to pursue large-scale solutions 鈥� ones that would provide emergency water backup for several weeks for the entire region,鈥� To said.

A key goal of the study is ensuring any new solution works across jurisdictional lines.

That includes developing an infrastructure that would allow WSSC Water, the Washington Aqueduct and Fairfax Water to have access to the regional second source or storage, in an emergency.

鈥淲e are looking at how our water supply system could provide more resilience to every system in D.C., in Maryland and in Virginia 鈥� and that would include looking at interconnections,鈥� To said.

Earlier this year, the Army Corps of Engineers completed a study听focused on near-term improvements, including expanding storage at the Dalecarlia Reservoir, which supplies the Washington Aqueduct system. But officials acknowledged that expanding that reservoir would only provide limited additional storage 鈥� measured in hours, not weeks 鈥� and wouldn鈥檛 solve the region鈥檚 long-term need for a true backup source

This new regional study will focus on options capable of sustaining the entire metropolitan area for an extended period of time if the Potomac River becomes unusable because of drought or contamination.

For now, water continues to flow safely from the Potomac. But regional leaders say planning for the unexpected is critical 鈥� especially when so many people depend on a single river.

鈥淲e鈥檙e looking at rock quarries in both Maryland and Virginia that would serve as storage for water in emergencies,鈥� To said, including 鈥渢he option of using wastewater and treating it to a higher standard for reuse.鈥�

To said once the large-scale options are evaluated, the water companies will carry forward the best option and begin the design process.

Michael Nardolilli, executive director of the Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin agreed.

“This study is about ensuring that future generations inherit a water system that is resilient, reliable and prepared for the challenges ahead,” Nardolilli said.

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“Unfortunately, new appliances are just not designed to last for decades like they used to be,” said Kevin Brasler, executive editor of Washington Consumers’ Checkbook.

If your appliance is still covered by a manufacturer’s warranty, Brasler said to use a shop authorized to do in-warranty repairs so you don’t have to pay for the work.

But what happens after the warranty runs out?

“What do you do if your seven-year-old clothes dryer stops working and you get an estimate for $200 to repair it,” Brasler hypothesized. “Do you fix it? Do you buy a new one?”

Initially, Brasler said do-it-yourselfers can repair many common problems.

“The nice thing about appliances is that most repairs can be done by you,” said Brasler. “It’s quite easy to swap out belts, even replacing things like control boards.”

Most replacement parts aren’t terribly expensive, if you’re willing to do the free labor.

“These days there are thousands and thousands of YouTube videos that can explain how to do these things,” he said.

Brasler said having a plastic tackle box, and labels handy can help you keep organized.

“It’s often easy to disassemble these things, but it’s hard to figure out what goes where when you need to put it back in place,” he said.

If your home repair doesn’t fix the problem, Brasler said you should consider whether you like the features on the device.

“Often, if the appliances has been working well for you for several years, it’s worth doing a repair, so long as it’s $250 or $300 or less,” said Brasler. “Usually that repair gets it back up and running, and because it’s served you well, it should last for many more years.”

However, “if your refrigerator or freezer needs a new compressor, or a clothes washer needs a new transmission,” it’s often time to buy something new.

See of local appliance repair services.

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D.C. Water plans to begin emergency rehabilitation work on a deteriorating section of the Potomac Interceptor sewer line in Potomac, Maryland, to protect drinking water intakes for WSSC Water and the Washington Aqueduct.

In a release, D.C. Water said starting Monday, June 15, crews will begin repairing 1,700 linear feet of the sewer line at Muddy Branch near Pennyfield Lock 鈥� known as Lock 22 on the C&O Canal.

“Inspections found structural deterioration, including significant corrosion and exposed rebar that requires immediate attention,” according to D.C. Water.

The Jan. 19 failure of the 54-mile Potomac Interceptor spilled approximately 240 million gallons of wastewater into the Potomac River.

The spill occurred along Clara Barton Parkway, inside the Beltway, downstream of all the main drinking water intakes for the three local water companies 鈥� WSSC Water, Washington Aqueduct and Fairfax Water.

However, a spill at the site of the emergency repairs would jeopardize the Maryland and D.C. drinking water intakes.

Despite the deterioration, D.C. Water said the most compromised portion听of the pipe is fully encased in concrete, which lowers the likelihood of a failure. Other sections also have a protective concrete cap for added structural support.听

D.C. Water said it notified WSSC Water in mid-April that conditions in this section warranted high-priority emergency repairs and has been briefing the utility on its plans.听

Crews are now conducting twice-weekly visual inspections and installing monitoring equipment that can detect changes in flow that could signal a leak or structural failure.听

鈥淎s soon as we identified the severity of the deterioration in this section of the interceptor, we moved quickly to put monitoring and protective measures in place and advance an emergency repair,鈥� said Matt Brown, D.C. Water鈥檚 chief operating officer.

鈥淲e understand the public concern and are monitoring conditions closely, coordinating with our partners, and taking every step we can to reduce risk and protect public water supplies, public health and the environment.鈥�听

Tree trimming and brush clearing are already underway, and construction is expected to continue through the end of September 2026.

To facilitate the rehabilitation of the deteriorated section, D.C. Water will build an above-ground bypass pipeline and pumping system to move wastewater around the work area and return flow to the Interceptor.

91欧美激情/Neal Augenstein

91欧美激情/Neal Augenstein

91欧美激情/Neal Augenstein

91欧美激情/Neal Augenstein

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Journee Long died Saturday after what D.C. police said was an accidental shooting while she was visiting her best friend.

Investigators said the two teens were alone in the friend鈥檚 godfather鈥檚 apartment when they found a illegal, unsecured gun.

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Metro’s closure of three Red Line rail stations this summer will mean extra traffic on congested Maryland Route 355. 91欧美激情 checked out dedicated bus lanes Monday morning, which have been installed to keep shuttle buses moving during Metrorail’s summer shutdown.

From July 6 through Sept. 6, Metro will be doing major construction at three stations, which will be closed to the public and will not be served by Metrorail: .

During that period, Metro will run free shuttle buses between the North Bethesda station and Friendship Heights station. Some of the shuttle buses will offer express service between the two stations, and local service will run along 355.

91欧美激情 drove the approximately 7.5 miles of temporary bus lanes, which have been installed by the to facilitate shuttle buses traveling smoothly through summer traffic on Rockville Pike and Wisconsin Avenue.

Designated bus lanes striping have been installed through much, but not all of the entire 7.5 miles in the right travel lane.

White solid lanes signify the stretches which are reserved for buses, but in locations where right turns will be permitted 鈥� most notably in downtown Bethesda 鈥� dotted white lines provide guidance of when a car driver can move into a bus lane to make a right turn.

The dedicated bus lanes will be in effect Monday through Saturday, from 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. during the Red Line closure.

Metro’s improvement project includes the construction of a new mezzanine at the Bethesda station to connect Metrorail with the future Purple Line. The Grosvenor-Strathmore platform will be rehabilitated, and other components will be replaced near the Grosvenor-Strathmore and Medical Center stations.

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A judge in Fairfax County, Virginia, has sentenced Brendan Banfield to life in prison with no chance of parole in the 2023 鈥渁u pair affair鈥� murders of his wife and another man.

Prosecutors said Banfield was romantically involved with the family’s au pair and the two plotted to murder Christine Banfield and blame her death on a stranger, Joseph Ryan, who they lured to the family鈥檚 home.

“One would hope that some day you will become tortured by what you have done to Christine, Joe, Christine’s daughter, and their families, but nothing I have seen suggests that you will,” said Fairfax County Circuit Court Chief Judge Penney Azcarate. “The level of cruelty, calculation, and inhumanity in this case reflects something far deeper than anger or impulse. It reflects evil, which is why I carry no burden and find no hesitation in sentencing you to life.”

Brendan Banfield was convicted in February of two counts of aggravated murder. He has maintained his innocence throughout the legal process, including during the sentencing hearing Friday.

In Banfield’s testimony, he claimed to have shot Ryan to stop him from attacking his wife with a knife 鈥� a version of events the jury didn’t buy.

“Christine cared very much for her family and friends, I’m not trying to, I’m not trying to diminish in any way what, what her life, what her life was. She truly was a caring, a caring mother, a caring wife, a loving nurse,” Banfield said. “But I am not responsible for her death. This is not a knife that I ever held in my hand, and I never stabbed her.”

Azcarate, who also presided over his trial, appointed Banfield an appellate attorney after imposing his sentence Friday. Banfield would have 30 days to file an appeal.

Aggravated murder became after former Gov. Ralph Northam abolished the death penalty in 2021. It carries a mandatory life sentence.

Banfield, a former IRS law enforcement officer,听was also found guilty of using a firearm in the commission of a felony and child endangerment, as his 4-year-old child was home during the killings.

Speaking of Christine’s daughter, Azcarate said, “You did not just take her mother from her, you placed her in the middle of the horror you created. She is young now, but one day she will understand your true self, and she will understand what you took from her, which is everything.”

Before sentencing, prosecutors called three witnesses who provided victim impact statements: Christine鈥檚 sister, Ryan鈥檚 mother and his aunt. All three witnesses shared memories of their loved ones, and gave a window into the grief they’ve experience since their murders.

“Joe wasn’t the disposable caricature he was made out to be,” his mother, Deirdre Fisher, testified. “He had a face, he had a name, he had a life, but Brendan Banfield shot his face, soiled his name, and treated his life as disposable.”

The ‘au pair affair’

According to the prosecution and Magalh茫es, who testified against Banfield after taking a plea deal, Banfield and the au pair created an account on a fetish website impersonating Christine and drew Ryan to the home with promises of rough sex.

During her two days of testimony, Magalh茫es detailed her sexual relationship with Banfield, his desire to 鈥済et rid of his wife鈥� and the plan he developed to do so.

Magalh茫es was initially charged with murder in October 2023, eight months after the killings and nearly a year before Banfield himself was charged.

With her trial date nearing, Magalh茫es accepted a plea deal, in which her charge was downgraded to manslaughter. In February, after testifying against her former lover, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison for her role in the double murder.

On Friday, Banfield and his attorney argued that DNA evidence at the crime scene and digital forensic evidence were not properly weighed by the jury.

Both pointed to blood stain pattern analysis that suggested Christine’s blood was found on Ryan.

They referenced instances where Christine’s laptop was accessed when Brendan Banfield wasn’t home, as Magalh茫es had claimed he was the one to login to the device to message Ryan, not her.

The defense has repeatedly claimed that the catfishing theory was forced onto detectives and that members of the police department who disagreed with the theory were moved off the case.

‘I climbed in her crib’: Families share memories, anger over murders

Christine鈥檚 big sister, Danielle Hocker, gave a window into their memories from childhood, times of catching lightning bugs, backyard haircuts from their barber grandfather and staying up late to watch Saturday Night Live.

“We were each other’s first friends, sleeping in each other’s bedrooms, in sleeping bags, on the floor, or in tents in the den,鈥� Hocker said. 鈥淚 climbed in her crib several times and attempted a solo diaper change unsuccessfully.鈥�

Hocker is four years older than Christine and as children, the sisters were at times mistaken for twins, she said.

鈥淲e both had curly hair, but otherwise I didn’t understand what other people saw,鈥� Hocker said. 鈥淲hen I look into a mirror, I sometimes see her first, my face replaced by hers, and in a flash she’s gone, and I’m left confused by my own reflection. She was her own person, never trying to be me, but always wanted to be by my side, and I hers.鈥�

Hocker also referenced Brendan Banfield’s testimony, during which he said both he and his wife had affairs throughout their 20-year relationship.

“As Christine’s sister, I didn’t just lose her, I had to sit and listen to a version of her that did not exist,” Hocker said. “I knew her in a way that he never could. I knew her honesty, her compassion, her refusal to live with secrets.”

‘I won’t forget you, Joe’

Speaking remotely, Ryan’s mother also described the hurt caused by the way her son was characterized as part of the scheme, as “the intruder, the fetish guy into rough sex, the rapist and the murderer.”

“Over these more than three years since Joe’s murder, my life has been filled with continued loss and with emotional and medical and financial trauma, I have not been able to function normally at home,” Fisher said.

In the time since Ryan’s death, Fisher said she has developed ulcers, a heart condition and had a toe removed.

“Would I have experienced such severe trauma without the brutal loss of Joe? Certainly not,” she said. “When Joe was alive, he would fly or drive to care for me, when I needed, and it included cancer twice.”

Fisher pushed back on accusations against Ryan’s character, saying he was a feminist who cared about women’s rights.

“Although he was chosen as a scapegoat from a website that is considered fetish, he was on that site to find a consenting partner because he believed in a woman’s right to bodily autonomy and in her control over her romantic and sexual life,” she said.

Ryan lived with his grandmother, who he cared for, and had previously moved to Florida to look after his grandfather before he died.

“Joe was a guy who believed in fighting for the underdog, and even actual neglected dogs,” Fisher said. “He would walk into an animal shelter and ask for the oldest, ugliest dogs, bring them home and love them for years. When Joe was murdered, he left behind a dog named ‘Kitty,’ who waited for him at the top of the stairs.”

Fisher said she gave birth to Ryan when she was 16 years old and, without financial or physical ability to raise her son, the two were separated.

When Ryan was 14, he pursued a closer relationship with his mom. Fisher said the two spent holidays and vacations together, and they would speak on the phone often.

Their last phone call was the night before his murder.

“I will choose to live in his fighting spirit and with his voice in my head, ‘Be kind to yourself, Mom. Take better care of yourself, Mom. Love you, Mom.’ I won’t forget you, Joe. I hear you now,” Fisher said.

91欧美激情’s Thomas Robertson contributed to this report.听

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