Out in the Archives

Gender and Sexuality Collections at Georgia State University

On December 13, 1993, Raven Wolfdancer was found stabbed to death outside his apartment in Poncey-Highland. Wolfdance — an artist, poet and gardner — had been one of Gay Spirit Visions’ founding members, creating much of the artwork for their conference programs. The murderer was never officially identified.

“I saw him on a Friday. I took him to the doctor, dropped him off there, and was going out of town. When I got back on Sunday night, I thought about Raven, but was exhausted, and I thought, well, I’m going to call him in the morning. Early the next morning, Gary Kaupman called me and said he’d heard on the radio that Raven had been killed. This was just a complete shock to me. I immediately drove over to where Raven lived, and it was marked – had the yellow crime scene stuff around it.

 Everyone was shocked. What we knew is that he had been killed on the front steps of his house. He had been stabbed in the heart, which meant that he died instantly. We were just – the friends – just – we had no – who would kill Raven?

 Meanwhile, the investigation is proceeding, and nothing is happening. Essentially, what it was is that they – the Atlanta Police Department did not investigate homicides dealing with gay men, particularly if they had AIDS, because they just figured, good riddance.” 
Franklin Abbott, December 14, 2015