Self-reference is a concept that involves referring to oneself or one’s own attributes, characteristics, or actions. It can occur in language, logic, mathematics, philosophy, and other fields.
On the night of October 6, 1998, Shepard was approached by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie; all three men were in their early 20s. McKinney and Henderson offered to give Shepard a ride home. They subsequently drove to a remote rural area and proceeded to rob, pistol-whip, and torture Shepard, tying him to a split rail fence and leaving him to die.