Louis Duffy Found Guilty In Murder Of Gay Bar Owner Billy Lewis

Louis M. Duffy has been found guilty of the murder of Clinton “Billy” Lewis, the owner of Club Chill, an Elmira, New York gay bar and club, The-Leader.com reported.

The 21-year-old Duffy was silent on Thursday as the jury announced the was guilty of the crime. Sentencing is expected to take place on January 9.

Jurors found Duffy guilty of second-degree murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

Duffy was arrested hours after he shot Lewis, 53, in the head after the pair had consensual sex at Lewis' apartment in the early morning hours of May 1.

While Duffy had confessed to the murder and even led police to the place he had hidden the Springfield Armory model XDM .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol he used to kill Lewis, defense attorneys argued that he acted under the influence of extreme emotional disturbance and should be convicted of the lesser crime of manslaughter.

In his testimony, Duffy said a molestation “flashback,” coupled with his first homosexual experience, caused him to shoot Lewis after the pair had sex. Duffy said he was abused by his adoptive grandfather when he was in the second and third grades. Duffy said he went to stay with Lewis the morning of the killing because Lewis had offered him a construction job the following day at a lakehouse. He said he had no intention of having sex with Lewis, but when Lewis started kissing him, “I let it go on,” Duffy said.

Duffy testified that he’s still unsure of his sexuality – he’s still attracted to women but has homosexual “tendencies.” He said he began having thoughts of sex with men in 11th grade, but he never experimented before his encounter with Lewis.

“I didn’t want it to happen with him,” Duffy testified. “I didn’t want to try it with him.”

After the experience, Duffy said he felt uncomfortable and ashamed, and when Lewis said the sex was going to continue and allegedly grabbed Duffy by the throat and shoulder, Duffy grabbed a gun from his backpack and fired.
With a confession and substantial physical evidence linking Duffy to the crime, Thweatt attacked Duffy’s credibility and believability. Thweatt pointed out a jailhouse letter Duffy wrote to a woman in which he said he’d lie in court to get out of jail sooner. Also, he told the woman not to believe the “gay stuff” that would come out at the trial.

Duffy faces a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.