An Army veteran clinging to life in a
Winston-Salem, North Carolina hospital after he was severely beaten
by a man he met at a gay bar died Saturday afternoon.
According to the AP, 46-year-old
Stephen Patrick White, who served in the Army during the late 1980s,
died from injuries he sustained in the attack.
Authorities have charged Garry Joseph
Gupton, a 26-year-old Greensboro city employee, with first-degree
murder in connection with White's death.
White and Gupton reportedly met last
weekend at the Chemistry Nightclub in Greensboro, which bills itself
as “gay, straight, whatever.” A bartender at the club said that
he had seen the men leave together in a cab.
Firefighters responding to a fire
Sunday at the Battleground Inn found White unconscious in a room
located on the fourth floor.
Guilford County Assistant District
Attorney Howard Newman said that the fire appeared to have been
intentionally set and that White had been struck with several
objects, including a telephone and television.
White's burns were so severe that parts
of both arms had to be amputated.
Alex Teal, White's boyfriend since
2009, told the
AP that the pair had recently reconciled and planned on resuming
their relationship the following week.
“So that night was his last night of
freedom,” Teal said.
Teal said that White was “doing good”
on Friday but that his health deteriorated on Saturday. He died
about 3 PM.
Officials said that they do not believe
White's sexual orientation played a role in the incident.