Murder of Jason Gage

Jason Gage (1976 – March 11, 2005) was a 29-year-old gay man who was murdered in his Waterloo, Iowa apartment. The murder was contrasted by the national press to the slaying of Matthew Shepard and prompted a push for city-wide laws protecting LGBT people.

Background

Jason Gage was last seen alive on March 11, 2005, socializing with friends in Waterloo's downtown bars. Sometime that night he went home to his apartment in the Russell-Lamson building. With him was 23-year-old Joseph Lawrence. Gage was originally from Oelwein, Iowa. He'd lived in Chicago and Milwaukee before moving to Waterloo years earlier. He settled downtown, and worked waiting tables in the Italian restaurant of his apartment building. He enrolled at the College of Hair Design in Waterloo, Iowa, in January 2003, and his friends said he dreamed of working in a big city salon.