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Ignoring the Dangerous Underlying Addiction Related Health Problems in Gay Murders Has To Stop

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Since the murder of 19-year-old Jason Fox in rural Washington last month, many motives have been floated. Many of the scenarios compare Fox’s death to that of Mathew Shepard over 20 years ago.

The parents of  Fox believe that his sexuality played a tole in his murder last month in Newport, Washington State. Yet there is the suggestion something more nefarious is at work, the details of which may never be known. The alternate weekly journal Inlander has conducted a thorough investigation that connects the dots of this horrific murder and quite possibly a hate crime.

Inlander reportsI”n the hours before authorities say he was brutally murdered, Jason Fox felt something familiar to him as a gay kid growing up in a small town: the fear of being unwelcome. That night on Sept. 14, Jason — a 19-year-old counting down the last days of summer before college began — planned to meet up with some people at Timber River Ranch, located a short drive from his hometown of Newport, about 50 miles north of Spokane. He was worried, however, about a man who lived there named Riley Hillestad.”

Before Jason agreed to go, he checked to make sure Hillestad wouldn’t be there, using “fr” as a shorthand for “for real.”

“Where’s ur place and is it fr not Riley?” Jason asked on social media, court records say. “Like I fr wanna kick it, I just ain’t down for drama.”

“Bro that’s why I’m at where I’m at because I don’t like that shit around me,” replied the person encouraging Jason to go, Claude Merritt.

Jason agreed but remained uneasy. He sent the address to his cousin.

“22 Yergens Rd,” Jason wrote, according to a screenshot of the conversation. “Just in [case] anything happens to me.”

It was the last time anyone from Jason’s family would hear from him. Weeks later, Jason’s body was found buried at the ranch with his hands tied behind his back, police say. 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.

KHQ reports: The parents of a 19-year-old man found dead in Pend Oreille County believe his sexuality played a role (or was the role, according to his mother) in his death, which is being investigated as a homicide.

Michael and Pepper Fox are Jason Fox’s parents, but the pair separated years ago. Michael lived with Jason in Newport, while Pepper moved to the Seattle-area.

Pepper claims she kept in touch with her son over the years, exchanging phone and video calls.

“I have full good reason to believe, and so do other people, that Jason was killed because he’s gay,” Pepper said.

Michael said Jason was bi-sexual. While Pepper believes Jason’s sexuality was the primary reason for his homicide, Michael believes it could have been one of several factors. However, he believes it could’ve played a major role.

“The sad part is I was beginning to feel like he was finally getting in touch with who he was,” Michael said. “And he was comfortable with himself. He had finally admitted it to us a long time ago. The only thing we can say is we’ve known for a long time. It doesn’t matter at all, son. It’s best for your mental health that you’re not hiding this, but it matters not to us.”

The investigation is ongoing and no other details will be released, as long as the case is active, according to the Pend Oreille County Sheriff’s Office.

On November 10 five suspects were arrested in connection with Fox’ murder. KREM 2 reports: Five people have been arrested in connection to the death of a Newport man who went missing in mid-September.

Jason Fox, 19, was found dead in early October.

“And it’s real nice to see the guys that hurt my son behind bars,” said Fox’s father Michael. “But nothing ever brings him back.”

Hillestad was formally charged on Tuesday with nine different counts in connection to Fox’s murder. They include first-degree murder and first-degree kidnapping. His bail was set at $1 million.

In court documents, Hillestad is described as the ringleader who orchestrated the murder.

Belding and Merritt are charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping and making false or misleading statements. Raddatz-Freeman is charged with first-degree murder, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree taking a vehicle without permission, tampering with physical evidence and false or misleading statements. A judge set their bonds at $750,000.

“I would like to find a you know, a life is worth a little more than $750,000,” said Fox’s father, Michael. “They’re all going to jail one way or another, I don’t get my kid for Thanksgiving or Christmas – so that guy shouldn’t get his kid, either.”

Bellah was arrested after the hearing for providing false or misleading statements.

 

Court documents: Fox was found buried with hands tied behind his back

According to a probable cause document, Fox’s body was found buried three to four feet underground with his hands tied behind his back in an isolated area on the south side of a property on 22 Yergens Road in Newport on Oct.4.

On Sept. 15, Fox sent a message to a person who lived with his aunt saying he would be at 22 Yergens “in case something happens to him” and he hadn’t spoken to any family members since, according to court documents. An emergency ping was conducted on his phone showing it at the Yergens address.

Two days later, documents said two law enforcement officers went to the location to see if Fox was there. They spoke with Hillestad, Raddatz-Freeman, Merritt and a woman who all lived at the location, documents said.

Fox had returned home and according Inverse, “Within weeks of coming back home, Jason started going down a dangerous road.”

At some point, Jason tried meth, admitting he did so to his dad. Michael says he wouldn’t let that happen in his house, so Jason was couch-surfing through the summer.

Over the summer, not long before his death, Pepper says Jason called her and told her that a man raped him. She asked him to come back to the west side with her, but he said he didn’t have any real friends there. When she told him to report the sexual assault, he said he would. Blakeslee, however, says that as far as he knows, it was not reported to anyone.

Looking back now, Pepper is overcome with regret that she let Jason return to Newport.

“I hold myself responsible for it,” she says. “I shouldn’t have let him come back.”

Still couch-surfing, Jason sometimes stayed with Matt Raddatz-Freeman, one of the people accused in his murder, Pepper says. Jason also mentioned hanging out with Claude Merritt, she says.

His dad didn’t know exactly what was going on, but he had an idea.

“I’m a realist. I figured he was doing some drugs and whatever,” Michael says. “But I never imagined anything like this was going to happen.”

Inlander: Before the arrests, Michael thought his son was a victim of a hate crime for being gay. Now, he and Susan say they’re just glad to see arrests made, trusting the sheriff if he says there’s no evidence for a hate crime. The four men remain in jail and have not made any public comments since their arrest.

“The thing that I think has helped us most is knowing that these assholes have been arrested,” Susan says.

The sheriff declined to answer Inlander questions about whether homophobic slurs were used by any of the suspects during the alleged murder, or whether Jason was lured to the property under false pretenses. He says Jason was “familiar” with the individuals at the property but wouldn’t specify what the nature of the relationship was.

Pepper says she read parts of Jason’s diary describing his being raped this summer, but Blakeslee says the diary — which they’ve investigated — “does not provide a level of detail” that would indicate Jason was sexually assaulted.

However, Blakeslee tells the Inlander that a rumor of a sexual assault is “something we’re looking into” in trying to determine motive. He says Jason never reported a sexual assault to police and, as he understands it, the incident would have occurred outside his jurisdiction.

Even if they can’t prove it’s a hate crime, Pepper remains convinced that Jason’s murder had to do with sexuality — either Jason’s, or that of his murderers.

“I have that, in my book, as a hate crime,” Pepper says.

One day, she says she wants to build a house in Newport that would be safe for anyone who identifies as LGBTQ.

For Robby, what helps him cope with his brother’s death isn’t the arrests. It’s Jason’s memory. At home, he keeps a bag of Jason’s clothes next to a hope chest full of Jason’s belongings. He leaves a spot open for Jason on the couch. When he thinks of Jason, he takes out some items — stuffed animals, clothes, a blanket — and sets them next to him where his brother is supposed to be.

“Sometimes I just put my head down and fall asleep there on the couch,” Robby says. “That’s what helps me.”

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