In their first public interview since attacking gay college student Matthew Shepard, his killers said they were motivated not by homophobia, but the prospect of robbery to fuel a methamphetamine binge.
"He was pretty well-dressed, had a wallet full of money," Aaron McKinney said of meeting Shepard at a Laramie bar in October 1998. "All I wanted to do was beat him up and rob him. ... Seemed like a good idea at the time."
Interesting explanation. It's too bad it completely contradicts McKinney's defense at the time of his arrest. A big part of the defense was the allegation that Shepard had "come on" to McKinney and his buddy, which may or may not be true. Regardless, the defense hoped that Shepard's alleged sexual advance would be considered as a mitigating factor in the murder. This defense backfired 180 degrees, causing a jury to believe that Shepard was attacked because he was gay.
My take is that drugs, money, and Shepard's sexuality all fueled the attack. These guys weren't cruising the streets looking for some queer to attack. The fact that Shepard was gay, however, may have turned a mere robbery into a robbery and murder. If that's the case, the killers' intentions at the beginning of th evening are irrelevant.
Posted by mike at November 26, 2004 12:04 AM