Gay Man's Death Being Investigated By Police

San Francisco police are investigating the death of a 48-year-old gay man as a possible homicide but investigators stress they have no firm evidence that the victim was murdered. They are asking that anyone with information contact police.
Barry Nielsen, an artist and longtime city resident, was found unconscious and in a pool of blood on Bryant Street, near Mariposa Street, about 7:39 p.m. last Friday, October 21 while volunteering as a greeter outside an art event. He was rushed to nearby San Francisco General Hospital. Doctors were unable to revive him. Scans indicated a lack of brain activity and he was put on life support.
A decision was made to disconnect life support, which took place Tuesday, October 25. His former partner, and the person designated as his durable power of attorney, Eric Hallquist, told the Bay Area Reporter that doctors said there was no hope. Family members, including Nielsen's parents and sister and younger brother, arrived in San Francisco earlier this week.
Nielsen suffered from AIDS and was hospitalized in February and March of this year and almost died, Hallquist said. But Hallquist added that Nielsen had been in good health recently.
"He was the love of my life for 13 years," Hallquist tearfully said. "It's awful that a fter he overcame such a terrible illness that he is now taken away."
Hallquist said two doctors and several nurses who treated Nielsen at SFGH told him that they all believe that Nielsen was assaulted.
Investigators, however, said that none of Nielsen's possessions had been taken. That led to speculation by Nielsen's friends that if he was assaulted, he may have been the victim of a hate crime rather than a robbery.
San Francisco Police LGBT liaison Sergeant Chuck Limbert said a neurologist who treated Nielsen also told him that his injuries were not consistent with a fall. But the neurologist added that she was very distressed that she had been quoted in e-mails sent by Nielsen's friends saying definitively that he was assaulted.
Hallquist told the B.A.R. that the neurologist was upset that she was quoted saying Nielsen was "definitely" assaulted. Hallquist reiterated that the neurologist said that she believed he was assaulted but was unable to definitively say so.
Friends say Nielsen had lacerations to the front of his head, a fractured neck, and injuries to his spine. An SFGH spokeswoman said she could not release details of his injuries.
"How do you get those kinds of injuries from a fall? It doesn't make sense," longtime friend of Nielsen's and Names Project founder Cleve Jones told the B.A.R. Jones's opinion was echoed by several of Nielsen's friends who were convinced that foul play was involved in his death.
Limbert said that after talking with the neurologist on Saturday, October 22, he made sure that the case was referred to the San Francisco Police General Works department where it would be investigated as a possible assault rather than simply dismissed as an accident.
The General Works department did not return calls from the B.A.R. seeking comment.
Limbert said that several people were in the area at the time of the incident, including two SFPD officers who were in a coffee shop across the street. None reported seeing or hearing any possible attack.
Limbert is urging anyone with information to call the police LGBT hotline at (415) 558-5411.
Nielsen was found at the entrance to the gallery of his friend, Michael Schoenig. He was volunteering as a greeter for an Open Studios art event. He is believed to have fallen, whether by accident or after being assaulted, sometime between 7:25 and 7:39 p.m., according to Hallquist.
Originally from Racine, Wisconsin, Nielsen moved to San Francisco in 1985. He has been combating HIV for several years, Hallquist said.
from Bay Area Reporter