Bandmate Geoff Ackerman - "Did Brian at one time identify as Bri? Yes. However, within the last year or so, he identified as Brian, and if I had to put a label on him (something he would hate, by the way), he would identify as an androgynous pansexual man,"
Brian's social media presence seems to confirm this. Brian is lists his gender as male on Facebook despite his feminine appearance in his profile picture. There is also an account under the name of Bri, but it has been inactive since 2012 and even that one is listed as male.
Another friend of his, Dominic Joseph Catalano, said this:
QuoteHis fiancée, Sarah Price, as well as myself and others are outraged at this misinformation. We find it highly insensitive and disgusting that these lies are being publicized only two short days after the incident, as if it were some tabloid gossip.
Brian was always a supporter of the transgender community and so am I (being bisexual myself). You have the permission of his loved ones to say that he was an LGBTQ ally. But he was NOT transgender himself.
The REAL reason he was killed: because he was allowing his heroin addicted biological father, Kevin Golec, to sleep on his couch. He wanted to support his dad when no one else would. It was discovered that Kevin had been stealing Brian and Sarah's belongings to pawn for dope money, and Brian confronted him about it Friday night. An argument ensued, and it escalated to the point of violence. Kevin stabbed Brian to death in his drug-addicted desperation. It had NOTHING to do with Brian's sexuality or gender identity. The "cult" that Kevin tried to use as an excuse was the Wiccan coven that Brian and I were in together. Brian was an avid teacher and practitioner of the occult and spiritualism. But no, we were not part of a cult. Wicca has been recognized as a religion in the U.S. since 1986.
In conclusion, Brian was an amazing pure-hearted idealist who touched the hearts of many individuals. People who had no one else, he would altruistically accept as friends. Brian had a tremendously difficult life, but he persevered and held the most noble intentions until the very end.
Sarah is outraged at this twisted fabrication. Personally, I find it to be disgraceful and insensitive. We would appreciate it if you would take down the articles and quit perpetuating this lie that Brian was a transgender female. Please, for the sake of his loved ones, don't add insult to injury. We're having a tough enough time of things right now. We don't need this added. Thank you.
Brian, his friends, and his fiancee all have very public privacy settings on their facebook pages. Just a quick glance at them supports everything his friends have said.
I am not suggesting this person doesn't fit into the trans community, I am suggesting he is not a trans woman. And I am splashing cold water on this because I respect people's right to self-identify and the fact that all of these stories today are also citing "Goddess Edwards" as a trans woman murdered this year really disturbs me. Lamar Edwards was a gay man who was murdered last month. Because there was a picture of him in drag, people jumped on it and "corrected" media reports to gender him properly. One person, who could not find a first name that matched this narrative that he was a murdered trans woman claimed his identity had been erased and therefore was going to refer to him as "Goddess Edwards." That name by which he had never identified with has stuck and appears on many of the trans women murdered in 2015 lists. This is despite the fact that those close to him insisted he identified as a gay male - an that looks like he took pride in from the looks of his Facebook. How is the fact that Lamar Edwards identity erased in death any different than a situation like Jennifer Gable's? If anything, it is more egregious to me because I would think the trans community would be hyper-aware of how important the right to self-identify is.
