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NOTE: I really thought the press would bury this story, and I'm extremely happy they didn't. I'm hoping that from this horrible crime of of extreme violence, legislation against hate crimes of any sort will be enacted to protect those of us that are different from this sort of "retribution". Other hate crimes of equal extremity have been perpetrated against members of the gay community for years. It's about damn time people paid attention to the world around them...it's a shame that it had to come about from the loss of another life. |
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Openly gay student beaten, left to die in Wyoming attack Copyright (c) 1998
Nando.net LARAMIE, Wyo. (October 9, 1998 2:44 p.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) -- A gay student at the University of Wyoming was savagely beaten, burned and left to die tied to a wooden fence. Four suspects were arrested. A passer-by found Matthew Shepard, a 22-year-old political science major, bloody and unconscious Wednesday evening a mile northeast of Laramie. His skull had been smashed with a blunt object. |
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Shepard was in critical condition and on a respirator at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colo. He was last heard from Tuesday evening when he called friends from a bar. A University of Wyoming student and three other people were arrested Thursday in connection with the beating and were scheduled to be in court Friday. Robbery was the motive, but Shepard was victimized in part because he is gay, police Cmdr. Dave O'Malley said. The prosecutors had no immediate comment on whether bias charges would be pursued. Shepard was found by a man on a bicycle who at first thought he was a scarecrow or dummy because of the way he was positioned on the fence, O'Malley said. Russel Arthur Henderson, 21, and Aaron McKinney, whose age was not immediately available, were expected to be charged with attempted first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery. Chasity Vera Pasley, 20, a student, and Kristen Leann Price, 18, were expected to be charged with being accessories after the fact, O'Malley said. O'Malley said the two men lured the victim from the Fireside Lounge, a campus hangout, by telling him they were gay. He said the three drove off in McKinney's truck. The two beat Shepard in the truck, then continued to beat him after tying him up to the fence outside Laramie. They took his wallet and shoes and left him, O'Malley said. Later, the two young women helped them get rid of their bloody clothing. He said the two men made anti-gay statements to the two women, who told police about them. Shepard had twice been beaten recently and attributed those attacks to his open homosexuality, friends said. O'Malley confirmed those beatings but said they took place outside Laramie. His small size, open personality and homosexuality combined to make him a target for viciousness, friends said. By E.N. SMITH, Associated Press Writer Past Stories:
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