The key word in the previous sentence is "apparently." Heard's parents are certain Dammion didn't take his own life, and they've created a website offering a reward for more information about his death, which has made news in Colorado and beyond.
The Denver Post is only the latest major news organization to examine the circumstances of Dammion's death. Earlier this month, for instance, the story was featured on Good Morning America; we've got that video below.Dammion's body was found hanging from a tree near U.S. Highway 50 outside Gunnison, and an autopsy found he'd died of strangulation. Moreover, authorities put out a press release stating that while the investigation into the death was ongoing, no other suspects were being pursued.
However, Dammion's father Gary, who lives in Texas, holds fast to the belief that Dammion wasn't suicidal -- a contention he supports with assorted anecdotes
Gary tells the Post that Dammion had chatted with him about a hike planned for the next day, as well as his ongoing rehabilitation of an injured knee; he was a scholarship wrestler at Western State. He'd also talked with a friend about sharing an off-campus apartment the next semester.
But that was before he attended a party during which he's said to have gotten into "several altercations" spurred by his belief that others at the gathering had badly mistreated a young woman he knew.
Was foul play involved? A website created by the Heard family makes that argument.
Text on the site's home page states:Dammion's family is offering a $25,600 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the murder of Dammion Heard.For more information, click here.
Continue for a "wrestling bio" of Dammion Heard from the family's website, followed by multiple videos.