There, he participated in theater, and took German and Italian courses. During that time, Shepard attended the American School in Switzerland (TASIS), from which he graduated in May 1995. Saudi Aramco hired his father in the summer of 1994, and Shepard's parents subsequently resided at the Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran. He developed an interest in politics at an early age. As a child, he was "friendly with all his classmates", but was targeted and teased due to his small stature and lack of athleticism. Shepard attended Crest Hill Elementary School, Dean Morgan Junior High School, and Natrona County High School for his freshman through junior years. The two brothers had a close relationship. His younger brother, Logan, was born in 1981. Matthew Shepard was born in 1976 in Casper, Wyoming he was the first of two sons born to Judy (née Peck) and Dennis Shepard.
He was taken by rescuers to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died six days later from severe head injuries received during his beating. Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on the night of October 6, 1998.