Jason's mom, Pepper Fox, is convinced that Jason's death was because of his sexual orientation. Details of the alleged murder sound eerily similar to that of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student tortured in a Wyoming field and left to die in 1998 - a murder that eventually led Congress to expand the federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. Four people have been charged with murder in connection with his death: Matthew Raddatz-Freeman, 28, Kevin Belding, 24, Claude Merritt, 25, and Riley Hillestad, 26.Īs investigators in Pend Oreille County search for a motive, his death has reverberated across the LGBTQ community. Weeks later, Jason's body was found buried at the ranch with his hands tied behind his back, police say.
It was the last time anyone from Jason's family would hear from him. '22 Yergens Rd,' Jason wrote, according to a screenshot of the conversation.
