The Book of Matt

Stephen Jimenez talked about his book, The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard, in which he argues that the killing of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, in October of 1998 was not an anti-gay hate crime, but was instead the result of a robbery gone wrong. In his book, Mr. Jimenez says that Aaron McKinney, who beat Shepard to death with a .357 Magnum pistol, was on a methamphetamine bender leading up to the night of October 6th and targeted Shepard, who was known to use and deal meth, after his plans to rob someone else fell through. He further asserts that McKinney knew and had sexual relations with Shepard prior to the night of the attack, which makes McKinney’s defense in court, that he attacked Shepard in a fit of rage after Shepard made sexual advances toward him, seem implausible.

Mr. Jimenez spoke in Laramie, Wyoming, at the Gryphon Theatre/Laramie Plains Civic Center. This was the first time the author spoke about his book in the city. close