Posted on 11/12/2002 8:22:17 AM PST by marshmallow
In the world of kinky and dangerous sex, Steven H. Bailey is known around the globe as "The True Master." In St. Paul, police are just opening the door to his world and role in the death of a sex partner earlier this month.
Investigators released new information Monday about the homicide case, including details about the suspected killer's one-bedroom apartment turned den of sadomasochism, and the California visitor who likely died there earlier this month as a result of "erotic asphyxia." The sex act involves depriving someone of oxygen for sexual arousal, and that's apparently what killed the victim in this case, 53-year-old Maceo Frank Brodnax, of West Hollywood, Calif., said St. Paul police homicide investigator Jane Laurence.
While ligatures and nooses reportedly are used frequently to restrict the flow of blood and oxygen in this sex act, chemicals also can play a role. Police believe Brodnax died in Bailey's apartment sometime after chloroform-soaked material was placed over his nose and mouth as part of a sex act between the two men.
The two had known each other for two months, meeting Sept 5 in an Internet chat room geared toward those interested in sexual domination and asphyxia, police said. They talked a few times on the phone and Brodnax e-mailed a picture of himself weeks before his Nov. 2 flight from California to St. Paul for what was to be a three-day visit.
It was not the first time Bailey had met someone over the Internet. In fact, his unassuming apartment at 594 W. Lawson Ave., near Dale and Como avenues in the North End, was a worldwide destination for men interested in an erotic tryst, police said. Bailey, 54, told investigators he had been with 5,000 men during his lifetime.
"There was no shortage of men coming and going from that apartment," Laurence said.
There is no evidence Bailey received money for the sex acts. Attempts to reach him Monday at the Ramsey County Jail were unsuccessful.
In poor health and unemployed — he told police he suffers from AIDS — Bailey had devoted his life to his role as a sexual dominator and was known as "The True Master." A shortened version of the title serves as his e-mail address, police said.
His bedroom walls were covered with ropes and contraptions that could be used to constrain a person during sex, Bailey told police during an investigative tour of his apartment; police also said earlier that handcuffs were affixed to the wall. After his arrest last week, police crime lab workers hauled away four truckloads of such evidence over three days, investigators said.
The homicide case began unfolding early Nov. 6 when a neighbor spotted Bailey dragging a naked body, partially covered with a blanket, through the apartment building parking lot. The neighbor called police and officers arrived as Bailey was attempting to pull the body into the passenger side of his car. Investigators said a rope found around the victim's neck was placed there to help move the body. He was arrested immediately and admitted to killing Brodnax. That morning he told the first of several different stories about how Brodnax died.
"He's a huge talker," Laurence said. "I think he's used to being in control and I think he perceived himself as being in control of the interview when we talked to him."
Investigators spent 12 hours over two days last week questioning him about his life as a sexual dominator, the killing, and why he kept the body in his apartment for several days before deciding to try to dump it in "the river."
In fact, there is evidence to suggest Brodnax died the same day he arrived — Nov. 2, which would mean the body had been in the apartment for four days. Although it was clear the body had been moved around the apartment several times, police wouldn't elaborate on Bailey's motives for keeping the body.
The case not only is raising eyebrows but also legal questions about how to prosecute a case when two consenting adults engage in a sex act that turns deadly.
"It's part of the sex act — part of it is causing bodily harm and there's a certain amount of risk. So there's a certain amount of cooperation here apparently, but the question then becomes whether this was beyond consent and whether the individual who survived was doing more than what was consented to," said Peter Erlinder, professor of constitutional criminal law at St. Paul's William Mitchell College of Law.
Though he has no firsthand knowledge of the case, Erlinder speculated that prosecutors might consider either charges of manslaughter or second-degree murder. Manslaughter is defined as death caused by inherently risky behavior; second-degree murder is intentionally causing someone great bodily harm that results in death.
Bailey could be charged as early as today.
While he doesn't have a criminal history, Bailey's alleged involvement in this case has police wondering whether he should be a suspect in other deaths. That said, Laurence emphasized: "There's no indication he was preying on people who weren't willing or that there was something to worry about in the neighborhood. We've never had any calls of him as any kind of predator."
In California, family, friends and co-workers are mourning Brodnax's death. His sister, who did not want to be identified because of the case, said her brother was a devout Catholic and a 29-year employee of United Airlines. He also is survived by his parents and a brother.
In what capacity? And, isn't Un Tied Airlines one of those Domestic Partner companies? And, and, didn't AIDS get introduced to the Western World through traveling Airline Employees? Just some random thoughts.
What's the big deal? Isn't desire for an alternate lifestyle no more abnormal than being left handed? >>>Sarcasm /off<<<
Not!
Yeah, that would be a red flag.
"A ha! That explains your weighing 75 lbs" said Colombo.
And really, who's walls aren't covered with ropes an contraptions that could be used to constrain a person during sex? I know mine are.
No shortage, no kidding!
5,000 divided by 35 years is 142 a year. 142 divided by 52 weeks is 2.7 per week.
NO! NO! NO! There is nothing "devoutly Catholic" about a sadomasochistic queer who gets his jollies by snuffing his partner(s?), or nearly so, keeps a corpse in his apartment for several days, hangs ropes, chains, and other "toys" for violent sex on his walls. "Devout Catholic?" NOT.
Otherwise known as Boys Town...
Uh, I think not. He may have thought he was a Catholic, but by his actions, he clearly was not a "devout" Catholic.
So, uh, you doin' anything this weekend? I can't claim to such swell bedroom decorations, but the garage has got an intersting variety of hoists and pulleys. Why, you could change an engine with them....
-archy-/-
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