But Shepard'skillers, in their first interview since theirconvictions, tell "20/20's" Elizabeth Vargas thatmoney and drugs motivated their actions that night,not hatred of gays. "I looked in the back of the truck and laying in theback of the truck was a large-frame revolver. “It is indefensible that [Spencer] would claim that citizen complaints of her policies or practices are a per se partisan attack, or that our lawful efforts to inquire into them constitute an overreach,” Hestrin wrote. Another Laramie resident, Elaine Baker, says she alsosaw McKinney and Shepard together in a socialsituation. John Myers joined the Los Angeles Times as Sacramento bureau chief in 2015 and has spent more than two decades covering California politics, state government and elections. They targeted him because he was gay. "I'm just not buying into that. McKinney's case went to trial a year after Shepard'sdeath. Barzal Puts On A Show, Registers Hat Trick, 5 Points As Islanders Blast CapitalsMathew Barzal had three goals and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice, … ", Prosecutor Rerucha recalls that Shepard's friends also contacted his office. Indoor live events and performances can resume in California this month with limitations amid declining COVID-19 rates and continuing vaccinations. "I really don't think he was in amethamphetamine-induced rage when this happened. While Shepard lay unconscious in a hospital, thenational press quickly arrived in Laramie. But if the attackers were just trying to rob someoneto get a drug fix, why did they beat Shepard sosavagely? The signs had been written by James Fulton, whose daughter was murdered in May 1991, after frustration that her killer was never charged. His mother, Judy Shepard, says her son'sproblems had started three years earlier during a highschool trip to Morocco, where he was beaten andraped. But according to McKinney, when he encountered Shepardat the Fireside Lounge, he saw an easy mark. One of the most famous Tabletop Games of all time, Chaosium's Call of Cthulhu combines the adventurism and teamwork of Dungeons & Dragons with the Lovecraftian Fiction setting of the Cthulhu Mythos.Your adventurers, or rather investigators, are dropped into scenarios right out of a Lovecraft story, and must keep their wits about them; the goal of every C.O.C. He says hespent most of that money on things like cars anddrugs. Get 8 to 3, a newsletter dedicated to the questions that keep California families up at night. What’s going on with school? “That was the first I had heard about all of this.”. Three years later, in 2000, the stalled investigation was assigned to a cold case detective and those drums were examined. Henry E. Huntington busted unions and exploited Mexican labor. Hendersonclaims at some point he tried, but failed, to stopMcKinney from beating Shepard further. Indoor events can return in California later this month as COVID-19 conditions improve. Further, your R21 won't benefit from our higher R01 payline for new (including early-stage) investigators. Emails and letters reviewed by The Times show a variety of disputes over the past two years regarding elections operations. The drama is often used in schools, as alesson in the insidious workings of hate andprejudice, and has become one of the most producedtheater pieces in America. The elections next Tuesday — the fourth […] Thething was huge, like an 8-inch barrel that had bloodall over it. Six Flags Magic Mountain reopens: COVID safety measures change even the bathrooms. In May, Spencer said, she was instructed by a high-ranking county official to remove a pair of permanent ballot drop boxes outside county election offices due to security risks. Theystopped at a wooden buck fence and took Shepard fromthe truck. "To see him in this situation, knowing that I'mthe one that put him here.". Your R21 application will also not be eligible for our R56-Bridge award or selective pay programs. He says he saw his mother beingbeaten up by a series of boyfriends, some of whom also assaulted Henderson. Atty. The mystery in this story was not who did it,but why? McKinney told Vargas he set out the night of Oct. 6,1998, to rob a drug dealer of $10,000 worth ofmethamphetamine. "It's really hard for me to talk to Russ," McKinneysaid. As word spread of the attack on Shepard, other peoplewho knew him also suspected the drug scene mightsomehow be involved. But a numberof sources tell "20/20" the two were not strangers. Spencer said she’s not sure all of the ballots are duplicates. "If Aaron McKinney had not become involved with methamphetamine, Matthew Shepard would be alive today," Rerucha said. One of the ballots, Spencer said, appears to have been filled out, but a second ballot — under a different spelling of the voter’s last name — was counted. Bopp, who says he left Laramie and the drug worldbehind six years ago, told "20/20" that he andMcKinney had been on a drug binge in the week leadingup to the attack on Shepard. A new study estimates there are three times the number of red snapper previously thought to swim in the Gulf of Mexico. He is bisexual.". Sgt. CalRerucha, who prosecuted the case, told Vargas themedia descended on Laramie "like locusts. As a heavy user and a dealer, McKinney was well-knownwith the methamphetamine crowd, according to RyanBopp, who was one of McKinney's friends and drugassociates at the time. The story garnered national attention when the attackwas characterized as a hate crime. Marisbury was performing the experiment on the ten-year old Mash Kyrielight. Spencer, who was an elections staffer for 15 years before being appointed registrar in 2014, said she has yet to hear a clear reason why the ballots remain in the custody of Hestrin’s investigators, who told The Times their review of the documents isn’t complete. March 24. McKinney took Shepard's wallet and his shoes, got backin the truck and told Henderson to drive to town. Representatives for the district attorney’s office said that while they have responded to a variety of election-related complaints over the past six years, very few cases were prosecuted because they believe the problems stemmed from the operations of the registrar of voters’ office. Rerucha attributes McKinney's rage and his savagebeating of Shepard to his drug abuse. She later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor interference with police officers.). “It was very concerning,” said Registrar of Voters Rebecca Spencer. But even though Shepardhanded over his money, McKinney continued beatinghim. TORONTO — There were no working smoke alarms inside a Toronto house where a fire killed four people, investigators said Friday.The Office of the Fire Marshal said an electrical failure in the ceiling of the dining room in the early morning hours of Jan. 29 caused the fire.Arija Celeste survived the fire, but lost her six-year-old son, her mother and two friends. His father, a long-haul trucker, wasrarely home and eventually divorced McKinney's mother,a nurse who later died as a result of a botchedsurgery. Learn more about the subject of history, which is broadly defined as the study of past events. Because the county uses a bar code system to track ballots mailed, she said, only one vote would have been counted had both of them been returned to her office. McKinney says he asked for, and got, Shepard's wallet,which had only $30 in it. I never did," she said. “I have not found any signs of fraud or any [voting] irregularities that don’t have valid explanations behind them,” she said. 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