" Deneke's girlfriend, Jennifer Hix, told a reporter what she saw the night of the murder. "I remember after he was hit, there was a cheer. We ran to him as soon as he went down. He was trying to talk, but there was too much blood coming out of his mouth. Jason [Deneke's brother] put his arms around him and held him while he died." In the meantime, Dustin Camp had dropped his friends off at their homes. The two woke their parents and poured out the story of Deneke's death. They were taken to the police department and gave statements. Camp also went home and told his parents what had happened. They simply told him to go to bed; it would be taken care of in the morning. The Amarillo Police Department beat the Camps to the punch. He was arrested early the next morning. A search warrant executed on the Cadillac revealed Deneke's blood, splashed on the undercarriage. Dustin Camp was charged with murder. During the trial, witnesses held up the clothes Brian had been wearing, as if to prove he deserved to die because of his appearance, and vouched for Camp's integrity, describing him as a 'good kid'. Defense attorneys called Deneke and his friends goons, sociopaths, and thugs. He repeatedly stressed how all-American and 'normal' the defendant was. The tactic of dehumanizing and humiliating the victim worked. The jury convicted Camp of manslaughter. He was sentenced to ten years' probation and a ten thousand dollar fine, also probated. Dustin Camp would never have to pay a dime for killing Brian Deneke. .
Brian did not die because he deserved to. Brian did not die because he asked to. Brian died because he was different. He was a nonconformist. He was an Individualist. He was a free spirit, in a town where many who live there complain that there is nothing to do; Brian always managed to find something. He was always encouraging the people around him to do something to make their town a better place, by publishing magazines, putting together punk rock shows, to talking out of town bands into playing free shows in the park while paying for their expenses from the money he saved.
