Haunting last picture shows Brit scientist lying on bed where he would be killed by stray bullet next to girlfriend
A BRIT scientist was pictured lying on the bed with his girlfriend where he would be shot dead by a stray bullet just hours later.
The last haunting photo shows astrophysicist Matthew Willson, 31, with Katherine Shepard only two days after he had arrived in the US.
The picture shows the couple relaxing on the bed with a cat before the horror unfolded.
Police said the bullet came from a neighbouring street where multiple shots had been fired, apparently from an apartment complex.
Desperate Katherine called 911 and tried to stem the flow of blood with a towel as she urged her partner to “stay with me”.
Matthew, from Chertsey, Surrey, was taken to hospital, but tragically died from his injuries.
Traumatised Katherine, 25, spoke exclusively to The Sun and relived the nightmare moment they woke to the sound of gunfire in the early hours of Friday in the upmarket suburb of Brookhaven, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Choking back tears, Katherine said: “We were in bed when we heard a gun going off. At first there were just a few gunshots, then there were more and it sounded as if whoever it was had emptied out their clip.
“I turned to Matthew and said, ‘I’m going to call the cops’. His last words were, ‘Sure, I’m sure they are just messing around’.
“Then the shots started again and that’s when I heard a small explosion by the side of the bed.
“I remember a piece of the wall hitting me on the leg. I turned on the light, looked round and Matthew was slumped in front of me. I could see he had been shot in the head.”
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The pair had met when Matthew was studying at Georgia State University three years ago.
Katherine, also an astrophysicist, said: “We had a long-distance relationship. He would stay up late to call me when he was back in England after I had finished work.
“He was a great guy and I really loved him dearly. He was fantastic and had a great sense of humour.
“We both knew we had found the one. We knew we were going to get married and we had talked about where we were going to live and what we would call our children.”
She added: “I just can’t believe this has happened.”
Matthew’s heartbroken sister, Kate Easingwood, yesterday posted a picture of her brother online with the caption: “This world is so unfair.”
Sgt Jacob Kissel, of Brookhaven police, told The Sun: “No arrests have been made, but the incident is being treated as homicide.
“The original report of the shooting was from a parallel street and we are connecting the incidents. It was a single shot to the head that hit him.
“The incident appears to be a random act of individuals discharging firearms recklessly.”
Today his sister, Kate Easingwood, who had flown to the US to be with Katherine, was on her way back to Sweden where she lives and posted on her Instagram a picture of her brother with the caption: “This world is so unfair.”
In the UK, Matthew’s neighbours in Chertsey were left reeling at the tragic news.
One neighbour said: “He was the nicest person, he would always say hello to you. He was a quiet and unassuming type of person but he was always friendly.
“He was a very polite young man who has lived here for a long time, more than 25 years I think.”
The astrophysicist often travelled the world for his work, locals revealed.
Matthew’s parents, Pauline and Robert, were grieving and have asked for privacy.
A UK Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are supporting the family of a British man following his death in the USA, and are in contact with US authorities.”
