Words Thomas Stichbury
TERRIBLE LOSS: Matthew with his parents Judy and Dennis
On 7 October 1998, 21-yearold Matthew Shepard was found tied to a fence post, almost crucifixion-style, in a field outside Laramie, Wyoming. Bleeding, half-frozen and shoeless, the American college student had been left to die after being beaten, tortured and repeatedly whipped around his head with a gun wielded by two men he met in a local bar then hitched a ride with. Five days later, Matthew succumbed to his terrible injuries in a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.