Murder of Robert Hillsborough
| Murder of Robert Hillsborough | |
|---|---|
1977 memorial dedicated to Robert Hillsborough in San Francisco | |
| Location | 37°45′37″N 122°25′14″W / 37.760225°N 122.420692°W San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Date | June 22, 1977; 48 years ago |
Attack type | |
| Victim | Robert Hillsborough |
| Perpetrator |
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| Motive | Anti-LGBTQ extremism homophobia |
| Verdict |
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| Convictions |
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On June 22, 1977, Robert Hillsborough, a 33-year-old American gay man, was murdered in San Francisco by John Cordova, a 19-year-old from Daly City. Cordova and three other young men followed Hillsborough to his apartment in the Mission and stabbed him fifteen times in the face and chest.
Cordova was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced to 10 years in prison. Though Hillsborough was the nineteenth gay man to be murdered in the United States in 1977, it was his death which galvanized political mobilization amongst the LGBT community to fight for human rights. His family unsuccessfully sued anti-gay activist Anita Bryant for inciting violence against gay people.