Well, check Jeffrey Dahmer media portrayal. It fed well into the “gay panic” of the times. Check this article from 1994: https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-29-mn-2780-story.html Emphasis of the lust, homoeroticism etc. being the driving factor of the murders, while there are no mentions of diagnosed mental disorders. And yeah, “murder gay” sold far worse than, for example, “murder black” which is a timeless classic media go to each time any socioeconomic strife involving any black people happens. Seemingly the public was less receptive of the “murder gay” narrative so they eventually moved on.