2 Linked to Gay Student’s Death Plead Not Guilty

The girlfriends of two men charged in the beating death of gay college student Matthew Shepard pleaded not guilty Wednesday to helping the men dispose of evidence.

Chastity Vera Pasley, 20, and Kristen LeAnn Price, 19, both of Laramie, are accused of helping to dispose of bloody clothing that police say was worn by Pasley’s boyfriend, Russell Arthur Henderson, 21.

District Judge Jeffrey A. Donnell did not set a trial date for either woman.

Shepard died five days after the Oct. 7 attack. He had suffered 18 blows to the head.

Henderson and Aaron James McKinney, 21, both of Laramie, have pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery. They await trial.

Shepard was pistol-whipped, robbed, then tied to a fence and beaten again, authorities said.

Pasley and Price are charged with being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder. The charge carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $3,000 fine.