The mother of a murdered teen boy in Washington has gone public with pleas to aid her in getting police to charge her son’s murderers with hate crimes. She’s even called on celebrities Lady Gaga and Ellen DeGeneres for help.
The newspaper Inlander reports Jason Fox was murdered in Newport, Washington last September. Investigators discovered his body in a shallow grave on a nearby ranch about a month later. Four men–Riley Hillestad, Claude Merritt, Matthew Raddatz-Freeman and Kevin Belding–now face charges in connection with the murder, though police have resisted labeling the killing a hate crime.
Now Jason’s mother, Pepper Fox, has taken to TikTok to enlist public and celebrity help.
Related: Wyoming postpones hate crime law, 23 years after Matthew Shepard’s murder
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“Hi, this is my attempt to get ahold of Ellen DeGeneres and Lady Gaga,” Pepper said in one TikTok video. “My 19-year-old son was brutally murdered in Newport, Washington, which is not a gay-friendly area, a few months ago… I’m in over my head and I need some help.”
It’s not clear if the video has reached DeGeneres or Gaga, though it has since netted more than one million likes on TikTok.
“I’m glad that people are interested and paying attention,” said Glenn Blakeslee, Pend Oreille County sheriff of the outpouring of support. “I hope people will reserve judgment until we get to court and facts can be presented in a thorough manner.”
A police investigation has revealed that the four men charged in Jason Fox’s murder have all admitted to being at the crime scene the night of the killing, though none have admitted participation in the crime. An investigation of Fox’s phone and social media accounts revealed nude photos of Merritt as well as several unidentified other men, in addition to screenshots of threatening conversations. Police have not identified the sender of the threatening messages. Further text messages reveal that Jason Fox expressed fear of Riley Hillestad, and had a past, violent altercation with Hillestad and Raddatz-Freeman in which the pair smashed his windshield with a pipe.
Pepper Fox claims that police need to examine more evidence she uncovered on her son’s iCloud account which further indicates his killing was hate-motivated. A judge granted a police warrant to search Jason’s iCloud account on April 6, though investigators have yet to issue further findings.
indulged
This is an utter shame.
A mother desperate for some level of justice and accountability reaching out to 2 of the most vapid people associated with our community.
Everything about this is just wrong….actually, it’s sinister & nauseating.
I hope justice and peace find his surviving family so they can begin their healing.
TMBisAOK
Never miss an opportunity to reveal your ignorance. It’s amazing how someone can make this story about THEIR OWN hate and not these killers. CONGRATULATIONS!
foxypepper26
Well hell, I was stressed out. Those were the first names to come to mind… And I am distorted by my sons death. My life ended the night his did. I have nothing to look forward to. I don’t know what to do with myself. I’m the only one fighting for him as the murderers not arrested, the murderers families and even his own father threatened me on the daily…. I don’t stop. I have nothing to loose now. Do you know what’s on the other side of fear? I do….. It’s freedom. No one will go unpunished. I promise. #justiceforjasonfox
Godabed
Queerty a link to her tiktok or capture of her video would be nice for this story.
I live in Washington State, this poor kid. If I ever go to meet someone I always send their address, because it’s just not safe these days. We have to protect ourselves at all cost. I hope his mother gets Justice for her son.
foxypepper26
I live in Issaquah, work in Kirkland and Jason, my son was murdered in Newport, wa 99156.
Fahd
So sad. I feel like gay lives matter, and I often when a gay man is murdered, the police are like “oh well”. I hope she is able to draw the attention necessary to ensure that the murder of her son is investigated and prosecuted appropriately. It will help others.
foxypepper26
They didn’t even go look for my son. “One less gay kid to worry about” I was told by Newport police. Well that gay kid was the most beautiful thing I ever laid eyes on! And they TORE him APART out of hate. This behavior will not be tolerated any longer. Since Jason’s death, 6 people have gone missing without a trace…. The town is only 2100 people strong…what in the hell is going on around there???!!!
GayEGO
Terrible news, this Mother needs to be assisted in prosecuting these murderers!
foxypepper26
I need help…. Either people are too busy, don’t care or homophobic I assume…. But I desperately need help….
Thad
This is reminiscent of Matthew Shepard. I hope the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which does the job of promoting tolerance and freedom from hate, knows of Jason Fox. They’ve got clout.
foxypepper26
I’ve called, emailed and left numerous messages with the Matthew Sheppard foundation and had no luck with a response!
Doug
I’d be willing to donate some money to this if she wants to start a GoFundMe account. It’ll be interesting to see if LG or Ellen respond. If this happened last September, I haven’t read anything about it in the news, which I guess isn’t that surprising.