A British scientist died by a ‘freak of nature’ stray bullet. Family hope his final act will catch his killer

Courtesy of Kate Easingwood

Katherine Shepard describes the shot that killed her boyfriend Matthew Willson as an “absolute freak of nature”.

The single bullet travelled 200 metres from a tree-lined park next to her apartment in Brookhaven, Georgia, through a 10-centimetre gap in the handrail of a stairwell walkway, piercing her bedroom wall and headboard before striking Willson in the head as he lay in bed beside her.