Two others were charged with being accessories after the fact. The maximum she could have received was three years. This site has been created as a supplement to Matthew's Place , which is owned by Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother. This site is both a memorial and a resource for further information about human rights, gay rights, and hate crimes issues. Please visit the Matthew Shepard Foundation for information on giving contributions, etc.
Site contains an historical archive .
He was the oldest son of Judy Peck Shepard and Dennis Shepard. At around midnight on October 6, young Matthew was taken from a bar by two other young men to a place about a mile outside of Laramie. Once there, these men took him out to a split-rail fence, mercilessly beat him with a pistol, tortured him, then tied him up onto the fence, and left him for dead. When the bikers first saw Matthew tied to the fence, they thought that what they saw a scarecrow, but realized that it was a person. Advocating the protection and promotion of the civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.