Editing Brandon Teena (section)

==Rape and murder==
During a [[Christmas Eve]] party, Nissen and Lotter grabbed Teena and forced him to remove his pants, proving to Tisdel that Teena had a [[vulva]]. Tisdel looked only when forced to and said nothing. Lotter and Nissen later assaulted Teena and forced him into a car. They drove to an area by a meat-packing plant in Richardson County, where they assaulted and gang-raped him. They then returned to Nissen's home, where Teena was ordered to take a shower. Teena escaped from Nissen's bathroom by climbing out the window and going to Tisdel's house. He was convinced by Tisdel to file a police report, though Nissen and Lotter had warned Teena to "keep her mouth shut or they'd permanently shut it for her." Teena also went to the emergency room, where a standard [[rape kit]] was assembled but later lost. Sheriff Charles B. Laux questioned Teena about the rape. Reportedly, he seemed especially interested in Teena's [[transgender]] status, to the point that Teena found his questions rude and unnecessary and refused to answer. Nissen and Lotter were taken in for police questioning. Despite ample evidence, Laux neglected to arrest and charge Nissen and Lotter, and Laux told them both a rape had been reported.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Markel |first1=Katrina |title=The Legacy Of The "Boys Don't Cry" Hate Crime 20 Years Later |url=https://www.buzzfeed.com/katrinamarkel/the-legacy-of-the-boys-dont-cry-hate-crime-20-years-later |website=www.buzzfeed.com |publisher=BuzzFeed |access-date=31 December 2023 |language=en |date=10 January 2014}}</ref> Laux declined to have them arrested because, "What kind of a person was she? The first few times we arrested her, she was putting herself off as a guy."<ref name=TeenaVoice/> Teena's mother later filed a wrongful death suit, where the Nebraska Supreme Court found Laux's inaction resulted in Teena's death (''see {{section link||Cultural and legal legacy}} for more information'').<ref name=TeenaVoice />

Around 1:00&nbsp;a.m. on December 31, 1993, Nissen and Lotter drove to Lambert's house and broke in. They found Lambert in bed and demanded to know where Teena was. Lambert refused to tell them. Nissen searched and found Teena hiding under a blanket at the foot of the bed. The men asked Lambert if there was anyone else in the house, and she replied that Phillip DeVine, who at the time was dating Tisdel's sister, was staying with her. The duo then shot Teena in the stomach.<ref name="trutv5">{{cite web |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/brandon/5.html |title=Teena Brandon |last=Ramsland |first=Katherine |publisher=[[TruTV]] |archive-date=December 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214094602/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/brandon/5.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> Nissen testified in court that he had noticed that Teena was twitching, and asked Lotter for a knife, with which Nissen stabbed Teena in the chest, to ensure that he was dead.<ref>{{cite video|title = The Brandon Teena Story| people = Directed by Susan Muska and Gréta Olafsdóttir|medium=film|publisher=Bless Bless Productions|date=1998}}</ref><ref name=JournalStar>Beck, Margery A. [http://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/article_4327fe4b-4e1f-59ef-b3bb-a4939362bca3.html "Panel rejects death row inmate Lotter's appeal"]. ''[[Lincoln Journal Star]]''. August 24, 2011</ref> Nissen later testified that he shot Lambert in the stomach. After leaving the room to find DeVine, and then returning with him, Nissen shot Lambert a second time. The two men then took DeVine into the living room, sat him on the couch, and shot him twice. Nissen then returned to the bedroom where he shot Lambert a few more times. The two men then left, threw their weapons and gloves onto a frozen river, and returned to Falls City. They were arrested that afternoon, after which Nissen told deputies that he had witnessed John Lotter shoot three people to death in Humboldt. Police went to the river, where they retrieved the gloves and weapons, including the knife's sheath marked with Lotter's name, tying them to the crime.<ref name="trutv5"/>

Teena is buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska. His headstone is inscribed with his [[deadname]] and the epitaph ''daughter, sister, & friend''.<ref>Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 5192). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition</ref>

Nissen accused Lotter of committing the murders. In exchange for a reduced sentence, Nissen admitted to being an accessory to the rape and murder. Nissen testified against Lotter and was sentenced to [[life in prison]]. Lotter denied the veracity of Nissen's testimony, and his testimony was discredited. The jury found Lotter guilty of murder and sentenced him to [[Capital punishment in Nebraska|death]]. Lotter and Nissen both appealed their convictions. In September 2007, Nissen recanted his testimony against Lotter. He claimed that he was the only one to shoot Teena and that Lotter had not committed the murders.<ref name="recant">{{cite news | last = Jenkins | first = Nate | title = Inmate Recants Teena Brandon Story | publisher = [[Associated Press]] | date= September 20, 2007 | url = https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-20-recant-murder_N.htm| access-date = March 1, 2010 }}</ref> In 2009, Lotter's appeal, using Nissen's new testimony to assert a claim of innocence, was rejected by the [[Nebraska Supreme Court]], which held that since—even under Nissen's revised testimony—both Lotter and Nissen were involved in the murder, the specific identity of the shooter was legally irrelevant.<ref name="innocence_appeal">{{cite court |litigants=State of Nebraska v. Lotter |vol=771 |reporter=N.W.2d |opinion=551 |pinpoint=564 |court=Neb. |date=2009 |url= |quote={{bracket|B}}ecause of the joint participation in the felony and the reckless indifference to human life, it is irrelevant to the degree of culpability by whose hand the victims died.}}</ref> In August 2011, a three-judge panel of the [[Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals]] rejected John Lotter's appeal in a split decision.<ref name=JournalStar /> In October 2011, the Eighth Circuit rejected Lotter's request for a rehearing by the panel or the full Eighth Circuit ''[[en banc]]''.<ref name="JournalStar2">{{cite news | url=http://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/th-circuit-denies-lotter-s-request-for-rehearing/article_fb9421ba-17d3-536b-ac4c-d65316d3bb99.html | title=8th Circuit denies Lotter's request for rehearing | work=[[Lincoln Journal Star]] | date=October 31, 2011 | access-date=March 28, 2013 | author=Pilger, Lori | location=[[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]], Nebraska}}</ref> Lotter next petitioned the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] for a review of his case. The Supreme Court declined to review Lotter's case, denying his petition for [[writ of certiorari]] on March 19, 2012, and a further petition for rehearing on April 23, 2012,<ref name=JournalStar3>{{cite news|last=Pilger|first=Lori|title=Supreme Court turns down review of Lotter case|url=http://journalstar.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/supreme-court-turns-down-review-of-lotter-case/article_77c280e8-6ee9-5e26-9a0e-71ec4d4d617f.html|access-date=March 28, 2013|newspaper=[[Lincoln Journal Star]]|date=March 26, 2012|location=[[Lincoln, Nebraska|Lincoln]], Nebraska}}</ref><ref name="SCOTUS">{{cite web | url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/11-8458.htm | title=John L. Lotter, Petitioner v. Robert Houston, Warden | publisher=[[Supreme Court of the United States]] | date=April 23, 2012 | access-date=March 28, 2013}}</ref> leaving his conviction to stand. On January 22, 2018, Lotter was denied a third appeal by the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://journalstar.com/news/local/911/u-s-supreme-court-wont-take-up-nebraska-death-row-inmates-appeal/article_8d0d6bad-928a-5959-89f5-71543f5f2df0.html|title=U.S. Supreme Court won't take up Nebraska death row inmate's appeal|first=Lori|last=Pilger|website=JournalStar.com|date=January 22, 2018 |access-date=September 28, 2020}}</ref>