A Nevada man is accused of killing his 14-year-old son for being gay.
Henderson, Nev. police report that 53-year-old Wendell Melton shot and killed his son, Giovanni Melton, on Thursday.
14-year old Giovanni Melton is the teen police say was shot by his father.@News3LV pic.twitter.com/dTnli6mGWg
— Antonio Castelan (@AntonioNews3LV) November 3, 2017
According to Las Vegas Now, Wendell and Giovanni were arguing when Wendell pulled the trigger. Wendell called the police and was booked at the scene. Court documents reveal that Wendell had a history of threatening his family with guns he possessed illegally.
Sonja Jones, Giovanni’s former foster mother, told KSNV-TV that Wendell, a United Airlines employee, could not accept that his son was gay. She believes that Giovanni was murdered because of his sexual orientation.
“He hated the fact that his son was gay,” Jones says. “I’m sure that inside of his mind, he would rather have a dead son than a gay son.”
Jones claims that Wendell allegedly pulled a gun on Giovanni at least one other time when Wendell caught Giovanni with his boyfriend.
“Giovanni was abused physically and mentally and spiritually for many, many years,” Jones continued.
Jones says that she hopes “they throw the book at him” in court.
“I hope he never sees the light of day,” Jones added. “I hope every day when he looks in the mirror, he sees his son’s face.”
