Quinn Matney, the UNC Chapel Hill student who lied about an anti-gay assault in which he was severely burned, has returned to his home in Asheville to enter counseling, McClatchy reports:
David Matney III said he drove to Chapel Hill on Tuesday to pick up his son, who called to say he wanted to come home.
"We're trying to get him in to see someone," David Matney said.
While he didn't offer details about what caused his son to create the hoax, David Matney did reveal that his son was trying to cover up something that his friends at UNC had learned about him. "Quinn made up the story on the spur of the moment to hide something else that occurred that should not have occurred," David Matney said.
He said his son's claim that the fictitious assailant used an anti-gay slur was regrettable because it propelled the matter into the national spotlight. "He was trying to make sure his friends believed him so they wouldn't push him on the real issue," David Matney said.
Matney's claim, that two men approached him and "branded" him with a very hot object while using anti-gay slurs, made national headlines quickly. As soon as it was clear that Matney could not produce evidence or a fellow student he said witnessed the crime, a false report was declared.