HUNDREDS attended a vigil at the weekend in memory of a doctor murdered in a homophobic attack in a Cardiff park. 

The vigil on Sunday evening was held on the steps of the National Museum in Cardiff, where mourners lit candles and held a minute’s silence for Dr Gary Jenkins.

Three people were convicted last Thursday of his murder in a brutal attack in Bute Park in the early hours of July 20 2021. 

The 54-year-old father-of-two suffered multiple brain injuries and died in hospital 16 days later. 

Lee Strickland, 36, Jason Edwards, 25, and Dionne Timms-Williams, 17, all admitted manslaughter but were convicted of murder at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court. 

The court heard that the three defendants had been “in search of vulnerable gay men who were in the park for sex” to rob.

Another man who had attempted to intervene was also assaulted. 

The case has prompted calls for greater protections for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

LGBTQ+ rights charity Stonewall said Dr Jenkins’s “tragic death is a reminder of the hate our communities face for simply existing.”