Ashes of Matthew Shepard, LGBTQ icon, are laid to rest

WASHINGTON — The ashes of Matthew Shepard, whose 1998 killing became a rallying cry for the gay rights movement, have been interred in the Washington National Cathedral’s crypt.

More than 2,000 people gathered Friday to celebrate the life and honor the memory of Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man.

Shepard’s ashes had for 20 years been kept by his family in Wyoming, where the college student was killed.

The ceremony’s homily was delivered by the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church.

Shepard’s gruesome killing at the hands of two men who authorities say targeted him because he was gay drew attention to the violence and discrimination endured by LGBTQ people across America.