LOS ANGELES — Ed Buck called his apartment “The Gates of Hell,” and for two men who died there, wallpaper with red flames and skulls was likely their last vision on Earth.
On one living room wall in the lair of the Democratic donor, a mural with a huge black spiderweb across a dark purple background seemed to foretell what was to come.
ED BUCK’S VIOLENT SEX PLAY RECOUNTED
This was where Gemmel Moore, 26, and Timothy Dean, 55, overdosed on methamphetamine while lying on a white mattress, witnesses testified Thursday at the trial in which Buck is charged with providing fatal doses of the drug. If convicted in either of the overdose deaths, Buck faces a minimum of 20 years in prison.
Both men were dead by the time paramedics arrived, victims of a deadly “party and play” game. A photo of Moore’s corpse was displayed on a large-screen television, his eyes staring blankly into space. A plastic tube was inserted into one nostril where a stream of blood ran out and coated the side of his head. A cross was tattooed on one shoulder and the words “Misunderstood” were on his chest.
Federal prosecutors displayed a series of photographs to jurors Thursday, showing a nightmarish sanctum in which Buck allegedly paid a stream of gay black men to participate in S&M activities. This involved shooting up methamphetamine and GHB with painful sexual activities, such as lighting genitals on fire, according to testimony.
Jurors on the third day of the trial over the two-drug deaths were able to hear the 66-year-old Buck speak for the first time in a 911 call placed for Moore in 2017.
“I have a guest who seems unresponsive. I got my neighbor here giving CPR, and he said to call 911,” Buck said in a calm voice.
The operator asked for the code to Buck’s security gate, and help arrived within minutes. But it was too late to save Moore.
Once authorities arrived, they photographed the dilapidated apartment that seemed a seedy world away from Buck’s life hobnobbing with people such as Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.
The apartment resembled drug dens that Hollywood portrays in the movies. A small, dark living room lacked furniture except for a couch and widescreen TV. Two 8-foot-wide mirrors were propped against the wall. Drawers and bins overflowed with various colors of men’s underwear, and a five-drawer steel Craftsman toolbox contained drug paraphernalia. Trash and debris were strewn throughout the apartment, photographs showed.
Items seized also included an electric shock dog collar, a police-issue baton, an electric saw, and erectile dysfunction prescription medication. One box contained the stuff of nightmares: several evil-looking, pitch-black skull masks with red eyes, horns, and protruding teeth, a photograph showed.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Christopher Darden asked Sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Martindale, “Is there a Halloween party held each year in West Hollywood? Could five of these masks be used as a Halloween or party mask?”
Prosecutors said in opening statements that Buck called his home “The Gates of Hell,” a theme that jibed grimly with masks he allegedly used in twisted and deadly role-playing. Buck found his co-participants on a gay dating site and various homeless encampments, prosecutors said.
Paramedic Cole Almes responded to both deaths at Buck’s home. In 2019, he was surprised to see a bloody towel with vomit and urine next to Dean’s body.
“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone attempt to clean up,” Almes testified. “Mostly people attempt CPR, or they are distraught [when I arrive].”
Buck’s next-door neighbor testified that he saw a continuous stream of young black men and “transient street types” come and go from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m.
“The individuals would leave the apartment in somewhat of a drunken stupor or have a look about them like they were under the influence,” testified neighbor Josh Tedla.
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After Moore died, the traffic slowed for a time, and Buck replaced his slatted glass windows with a solid pane that was more soundproof, Tedla said. The number of guests began to increase again until Dean died in 2019 when it tapered off again, he said.
