More Hate Crimes

More Hate Crimes
   Who knew reading about murder could be so interesting? I do not condone any of these reckless crimes, I am just someone who is interested in the subject.This is just what I'm looking at online these days if I'm not out saving the world. What really gets me is the really sad stories, the ones that usually grab attention because there is something really controvesial about it, like the Casey Anthony murder case( not a hate crime but an example of how the media influences the public). How much different would it have been if it was a child of ethinicity? Anyways, heres some good ol' murder for you.

Matthew Shepard
   The kid was only 21 years old. He was beaten to a bloody pulp and tied to a fence and left to die by two racist homophobic rednecks. There is a foundation created in his name , Matthew Shepard Foundation, geared towards the prevention of hate crimes against LGBTs( lesbian,gay,bisexual,transgendered/sexual) and in general.

Adrianne Reynolds
She was a pretty girl from Kilgore, Texas, and moved to East Moline, Illinois to go to an alternative highschool and live with her adoptive parents. It was here that she was strangled, beaten, burned, and dismembered by her classmates, Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory. It is alleged that Sarah is the one who initially strangled and killed Adrianne, and Cory was only involved in the burning and dismemberment and hiding of the body, which they put into two separate garbage bags and dropped into a sewer. When suspicions rose after authorities learned that Adrianne was last seen with Sarah and Cory, Cory buckled under the pressure. He confessed to police that he and his Friend Sarah were responsible for the murders, and even agreed to show where they hid the body of Adrianne. Cory also opted out of  harder sentence by testifying against Sarah, whereas Sarah placed the blame on Cory. This is such a sad story of teenage angst gone way out of control. It was brought into light that Sarah was wildly jealous of Adrianne. She was pretty, smart, and outgoing, and that attracted the attention of the boys that usually pined over Sarah. Also, it is reported that Sarah started out as having a crush on Adrianne, but Adrianne failed to prove her loyalty to Sarah when she was tricked into sleeping with a boy one night at a party. A sort of "test" Sarah had set up to see if Adrianne would be monogamous with her only. She failed the test and thus Sarah broke off all contact with her. She harassed Adrianne at school and would call her names like "jiffy" meaning that she spreads easily. She even repeatedly told students at their alternative high school that she wanted to kill Adrianne, a reckless hatred for her growing bigger and bigger. it finally boiled over one day when Sarah and Cory and another classmate invited Adrianne to go to lunch with them. Sarah pretended to makeup with Adrianne and play nice, and proceeded to give Adrianne a hug. Instead, she grabbed Adrianne by the hair and began to slam her head down. The two girls struggled, and ended up with their hands around each others necks. Apparently Sarah had deadly intentions for her all along, because she overpowers Adrianne, and doesn't let go until she is dead.
The two teens then drove to Sarah's Grandmother's farm and poured gasoline over Adrianne's body, covered her with a tarp, and lit a match. They returned the next day with a saw and another friend, and they saw through Adrianne's body.

   All three teens were charged. Sarah Kolb and Cory Gregory were both charged with two counts of first-degree murder and concealment on February 1, 2005; they both plead not guilty. Sarah went to trial in October 2005 and the jury was hung, with eleven jurors with a guilty verdict and one opting for acquittal. The re-trial produced a guilty conviction on all counts and she was given 53 years in prison.


   Cory Gregory pleaded guilty to all charges and received 43 years in prison


   Nathan Gaudet(the third suspect) was also charged with concealment for helping to dismember Adrianne. He plead guilty and was given a juvenile sentence of five years. Gaudet was released in 2008 but died in an automobile accident on April 16, 2012.