Gay Wyoming student dies from beating
 
 

Shepard died while on full life support

In this story:  Family at his bedside Many e-mails Motive? 'My son is guilty before he's even had a trial' Related stories and sites

FORT COLLINS, Colorado (CNN) -- A gay University of Wyoming student who was pistol-whipped and lashed to a fence post in an attack denounced nationwide as a hate crime died from his injuries early Monday morning without regaining consciousness.

Matthew Shepard, 21, died while on full life support, Rulon Stacey, the chief executive officer of Poudre Valley Hospital, told reporters.

Shepard had been in a coma since bicyclists found him tethered to the post in near-freezing temperatures outside Laramie, Wyoming, on Wednesday.
 

Family at his bedside

His parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, had flown from Saudi Arabia where the father works in the oil industry, to be with their son.

In a statement, Shepard's family thanked the hospital for its efforts to save Matthew's life. "They also reiterated in great detail ... how overwhelmed they are at the (worldwide) support they have received," Stacey said.
 

Shepard was pistol-whipped and tied to this fence
 
 

Many e-mails

Funeral arrangements were pending. In lieu of flowers, the family asked that donations be sent to the Matthew Shepard Memorial Fund.

"Matthew's mother said to me, 'please tell everybody who's listening to go home and give your kids a hug and don't let a day go by without telling them you love them,'" Stacey said, his voice choked with emotion.
 

Motive?

Before Shepard's death, Russell Arthur Henderson, 21, and Aaron James McKinney, 22, had been charged with attempted murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery.

Their girlfriends -- Chastity Vera Pasley, 20, and Kristen Leann Price, 18 -- were charged with being accessories after the fact.

McKinney's girlfriend, father and Price told The Denver Post that the two men never set out to kill the 5-foot-2, 105-pound Shepard. Instead, they said the two wanted to get back at Shepard for making passes at McKinney in front of his friends Tuesday night in a campus bar.
'My son is guilty before he's even had a trial'
 
 
 

Henderson, left, McKinney and Pasley appeared in court Friday

'Had this been a heterosexual, this never would have made the national news' — Bill McKinney, suspect's father

"I guess they (the people in the bar) knew that Matt Shepard was gay and maybe it got around that Aaron was gay or something," Price said in a story published Sunday. "Later on, Aaron did say he told him he was gay just to rob him, because he wanted to take his money for embarrassing him."

The elder McKinney said there was no excuse for the crime but the story had been blown out of proportion.

"Had this been a heterosexual these two boys decided to take out and rob, this never would have made the national news," Bill McKinney told the Post. "Now my son is guilty before he's even had a trial."

Friends of Henderson and McKinney said they were surprised by the allegations.

"They were quiet," said Heather Dunmire, 20, of nearby Rock River. "I wouldn't have expected them to do that. I never would expect another human to do that."

Stephanie Lake, 20, was a student at Laramie High School with Henderson, McKinney and Pasley. She attended a biology class with Henderson.

"Russ was a really, really quiet guy who really kept to himself a lot," she said.

Henderson and Pasley live in a rural, windswept trailer park amid weeds, engine parts, fishing tackle, and barking dogs. A neighbor, John Gillham, 21, said the couple generally kept to themselves.

About a thousand people attended a candlelight vigil Sunday night near the University of Wyoming campus to show their support for Shepard.

"We are saddened, heartsick," said the university's president, Philip Dubois. "All of us I would imagine are haunted by the thought of a terribly battered young man with his future erased.
 
"It is almost as sad to see individuals and groups around this country react to this event by stereotyping an entire community, if not an entire state," he said.

Shepard's parents said in a statement released before his death that he would "emphasize he does not want the horrible actions of a few very disturbed individuals to mar the fine reputations of Laramie or the university."

Shepard left Wyoming as a teen to finish high school in Switzerland. A friend said he had to overcome concerns about how his sexual orientation would be accepted before he returned to Wyoming -- which is nicknamed the Equality State -- for college.

"He had a lot of the same fears other people have coming into a small community," said Walt Boulden, a graduate student. "When he left Wyoming he had just started dealing with being gay. So he was very concerned about the attitudes when he first came back.

"But he really felt at home and comfortable here. He felt this was the place to be right now," Boulden said.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.