Questions Remain in Gay Man's Death

Questions continue to surround the death of a former Bay Area Reporter writer as people who know the man accused of killing him express surprise, and an attorney for a co-defendant in the case says she's innocent.

Daniel James Aiello, 53, has been described as a "passionate" journalist and generous friend. Aiello, who was gay, worked for the B.A.R. as a freelance writer who covered marriage equality and other issues before opening the Midtown Moped shop in Sacramento.

Kyle Billy Fletcher, 36, is charged with murder, robbery, and residential burglary in the case. Sabrina Eileen Ahrens-Gravelle, 39, is also charged with burglary. Both are in custody.

Police have said officers responded at 3:20 a.m. Wednesday, April 15 to Aiello's shop, at 1326 X Street, after a neighbor reported hearing "loud noises and crashing."

Fletcher and Ahrens-Gravelle were allegedly at the scene loading items into a vehicle, and they were arrested. Aiello, who was found inside the building, was soon pronounced dead.

Officials haven't provided details of how Aiello may have died, but court records indicate a belt was used.

Friends of Aiello have said that he'd tried to help Fletcher before Aiello grew to fear the younger man.

But Mark Rankin, 23, of Reno, Nevada, Fletcher's cousin, said he was "completely surprised" by Fletcher's murder charge.

"I could never see him killing someone," Rankin said, and Fletcher, who'd worked as a tattoo artist, has "got one of the biggest hearts I've ever seen. ... Everybody used to call him 'Smiles' because he was such a happy guy. I've never once seen him angry." (According to court records, Fletcher pleaded no contest in 2005 to a domestic violence-related charge.)

Barbara Fletcher, Fletcher's mother, said he's "a very loving kid," and "he didn't do that," but she declined further comment.

Attorney Jeff Raven, who's representing Ahrens-Gravelle, said Tuesday that he's "still trying to get up to speed" on the case, but "ultimately," Ahrens-Gravelle "will be exonerated, and it will come to light that she had no knowledge or role in the homicide."

Asked what Ahrens-Gravelle had been doing at the shop the morning of her arrest, Raven said she was "just with a friend."

He said Fletcher had "portrayed himself, to her and to the world, as part owner and partner of the moped shop, so for all my client knows, he's going to his shop to get his belongings."

He said he couldn't comment on evidence.

"I've only seen the most preliminary of discovery," he said.

However, Raven said, "the evidence will show" that Aiello and Fletcher "had an ongoing business relationship that extended for months or longer."

The two men "were involved in the moped shop together," Raven said, but he doesn't know whether Fletcher was Aiello's employee, or if they were business partners.

"They were clearly friends working together," he said. "I don't know the nature of the relationship."

Citing a fictitious business name filing, a Sacramento worker said that Aiello is the sole owner associated with the moped shop.

Raven said, "I would guess" that Ahrens-Gravelle and Fletcher were "friends" or "acquaintances. I don't believe they knew each other long." He doesn't think Ahrens-Gravelle knew Aiello.

He said his client has "absolutely no criminal history, and from all accounts of family members, she is a hard-working, dedicated parent, and a good person."

Tuesday, Ahrens-Gravelle's bail was reduced from $250,000 to $100,000. The next court date is May 28.

Pleas haven't yet been entered in the case, which Raven indicated is standard for Sacramento, but "when there is a plea" for his client, "it's going to be not guilty."

Through an assistant, Chris Cosca, Fletcher's attorney, declined to be interviewed unless questions were provided to him in advance.

Approached through Sacramento jail staff, Fletcher declined to be interviewed. A reporter who visited the jail in Elk Grove, where Ahrens-Gravelle is being held, was told the wait could be at least two hours.

Aiello's neighbors didn't recall ever seeing Fletcher or Ahrens-Gravelle.

Barbara Andrews, 65, who lives near Aiello's building, said she'd last seen Aiello earlier in the month, and he'd been "as jovial and talkative as ever."

A woman who was behind a locked gate Sunday at the building where Aiello had lived and worked declined to speak with a reporter.