Do you know who murdered Timothy O'Connor? In the winter of 1994, Timothy Alan O'Connor, a 29-year-old man, was living in Washington, D.C., having moved from the Midwest. He had recently received a promotion and a raise at his job and was looking forward to paying off his car. On the evening of Sunday, December 18th, he met up with friends at a popular gay bar in the Dupont Circle area called JR's. He was described as being in good spirits, showing off a new flannel shirt and jeans.
After leaving the bar, he was seen with another man, and the two of them went to an ATM. O'Connor had mentioned to this man that he was planning to go to a dance club called Badlands, but it is unconfirmed if he ever made it there.
The following day, Monday, December 19, 1994, at approximately 11:30 a.m., an exterminator entered O'Connor's apartment in the 2400 block of 16th Street, NW, and made a grim discovery. O'Connor was found deceased on his couch, face down. He was wearing only a t-shirt and had been gagged with his hands tied behind his back with an extension cord. There were no signs that someone had forced their way into his apartment, suggesting he may have let his killer in. His wallet and car keys were missing, but nothing else appeared to have been stolen.
The investigation into Timothy O'Connor's death revealed that his murder was one of a series of what law enforcement and activists termed 'pickup murders' involving gay men in the Washington D.C. area during that time. The man who was last seen with O'Connor at the ATM was questioned by police but was ultimately cleared as a suspect in the case. Despite the efforts of law enforcement and O'Connor's friends, who distributed fliers seeking information, no arrests have ever been made in connection with his murder. The case remains unsolved, and the person or persons responsible for his death have never been brought to justice. The Metropolitan Police Department continues to offer a reward for any information that leads to an arrest and conviction.
