Waterloo, Iowa police say Andrews beating death likely won’t be classified a hate crime

While anti-gay slurs may have been part of a Waterloo assault that led to the beating death of a 19-year-old Waterloo man, law enforcement investigating the incident say they do not believe sexual orientation was the focus of hate and violent actions.

“These were individuals who were known to each other, and there had been previous incidents,” Lieutenant Michael McNamee of the Waterloo Police Department told The Iowa Independent by phone early Wednesday. “It is possible that there was anti-gay shouts made at the time of the incident early Friday, but the attack did not stem from that. We don’t believe sexual orientation was a reason why Andrews was attacked or targeted — the history between the individuals involved goes back for some time.”

As The Iowa Independent previously reported, Marcellus Andrews is believed to have been sitting on an enclosed porch in the 200 block of Cottage St. in Waterloo at roughly 12:45 a.m. on Friday. Two friends had gone walking, but report only being a block away when they heard shouting and returned to the residence where they had left Andrews.

The shouting escalated and a fight with multiple participants began. Andrews, who was reportedly kicked in the face, was transported to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. He was pronounced dead on Sunday after being removed from life-support by his family on Saturday.

According to autopsy results released by the Waterloo Police Department, Andrews died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head.

McNamee said law enforcement is continuing to investigate the incident, and that no arrests have yet been made.